A tiresome tale of CIA dirty work : NPR
NPR • • entertainment
Key Points:
- Martin McDonagh’s new film, Wild Horse Nine, is set primarily on the remote Easter Island and follows CIA operative Chris Carlisle, played by John Malkovich, during the lead-up to Chile’s 1973 military coup.
- The story focuses on Chris, who suffers from terminal cancer and dementia, and his younger partner Lee Chesterfield, played by Sam Rockwell, as they navigate personal and political tensions, with Chris requesting a painless death on Easter Island.
- The film adopts a slower, more drawn-out comic Western style, deviating from McDonagh’s usual sharp dialogue and violent twists, resulting in a plot that some critics find lazily executed and lacking in dramatic action.
- Wild Horse Nine explores themes of political interference, colonialism, and personal morality, but its attempt to generate sympathy for a character complicit in historic atrocities has been met with skepticism.
- Despite strong performances, particularly from Malkovich, the film struggles to fully engage audiences, with its tone oscillating between smugness and sentimentality without fully convincing viewers of its protagonist’s humanity.
