Wild Horse Nine

Wild Horse Nine is coming to Hyde Park Picture House on Saturday 14 November. It's the latest from writer-director Martin McDonagh, who also made The Banshees of Inisherin, and it's a dark comedy thriller set shortly before the 1973 coup in Chile. The story follows CIA agents Chris and Lee, who are dispatched from Santiago to Easter Island by their bureau chief, MJ. Once there, Chris's bond with a pair of rebellious students threatens to upend the mission, all against the backdrop of Augusto Pinochet taking power and the island's ancient artefacts.

McDonagh bills it as a comedy that mines the absurdities and complexities of male relationships, and it runs 118 minutes. The cast is a heavy one: John Malkovich, Sam Rockwell and Steve Buscemi lead the way, with Mariana di Girolamo and Ailín Salas also in the mix. Disney is distributing it in the UK.

Early reactions have been strong. Philip De Semlyen called it "a bittersweet hangout film about lonely, crumpled men facing up to mortality, dealing with the consequences of violence and chewing the fat to outlandishly funny effect", while a Little White Lies critic described it as "arguably [Malkovich's] finest screen performance of the 21st century".

It's a good one to catch on the big screen, especially given the cast and McDonagh's track record for sharp, dark dialogue. The screening is on Saturday 14 November at Hyde Park Picture House.