The playwright, screenwriter and director Martin McDonagh has focused his career on angry and lonely people at moments of crisis. His latest effort, the highly touted Oscar contender Wild Horse Nine, explores aging, frustration and violence beautifully, placing a sad story against the gorgeous backdrop of Easter Island. It’s a very good film; observed in a vacuum, it’s certainly one of the best films of the year. There’s just one problem: McDonagh has made it before.

New Movie Wild Horse Nine Stars John Malkovich and Sam Rockwell as CIA Operatives

McDonagh’s previous film, The Banshees of Inisherin, explored the limits of patience and familiarity in small-town Ireland; his Oscar-winning Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri focused more on justice denied, while keeping the small-town setting. All these works — and most of McDonagh’s excellent plays — play songs in the same key, finding rich characters and gallows humor in extreme circumstances.

Similarity, then, is nothing new for McDonagh, and it’s fine for a filmmaker to patrol similar waters. With Wild Horse Nine, though, the familiarity sounds a bit like repetition.

The new film stars John Malkovich and Sam Rockwell as CIA operatives and occasional hitmen; it’s 1973 in Chile, and they’ve got a government to destabilize. In the meantime, though, they’re dispatched for a bit of down time to nearby Easter Island. Unfortunately, their boss (Steve Buscemi) has an ulterior motive for getting one of these goons to a remote location.

McDonagh’s 2008 film In Bruges starred Brendan Gleeson and Colin Farrell as hitmen operating in the shadows of Europe. They’ve been dispatched for a bit of down time to nearby Bruges. Unfortunately, their boss (Ralph Fiennes) has an ulterior motive for getting one of these goons to a remote location.

It’s more than a bit cozy — especially when noting that In Bruges was loosely based on Harold Pinter’s play The Dumb Waiter. It works because it’s an excellent and compelling plot. I’m just deeply confused about why McDonagh felt the need to … well, do it again.

Malkovich Leads a Field of Likely Oscar Nominees

If you aren’t thinking about In Bruges, there’s almost nothing to criticize about Wild Horse Nine. The striking contrast between the bleak realities facing the protagonists and the almost disconcertingly beautiful setting of the film — repeatedly represented by the appearance of the titular wild horses — is striking. The film is also beautifully photographed by cinematographer Ben Davis, who is both McDonagh’s go-to shooter and, for a bit of contrast, a frequent cinematographer for Marvel.

The performances, too, are stellar. A game supporting cast is filled with unforgettable, brief turns, including a pair of relatives on the other end of weighty phone calls played by Parker Posey and Tom Waits; McDonagh’s quick-witted dialogue and penchant for gallows humor make Wild Horse Nine morbidly funny from beginning to end.

There’s serious beauty in this film, and it’s more than worth watching. If Malkovich does indeed earn an Oscar for it, it’ll be well-deserved. It’s just sort of already a movie. That’s a small crime, but an odd one.

John Turturro Is The Only Living Pickpocket in New York and More In Theaters This Weekend

Veteran character actor John Turturro stars as an aging thief in The Only Living Pickpocket in New York, a love letter to the Big Apple and a film about what we’re losing when even crime becomes impersonal. When not caring for his ailing wife, Turturro’s character expertly relieves pedestrians and subway riders of their wallets and watches; when he inadvertently targets the brash scion of an organized-crime family, the stakes get impossibly high. Thankfully, The Only Living Pickpocket in New York — which is written and directed by Noah Segan, a protege of Rian Johnson — does not build to flying bullets but rather to quiet, heartbreaking moments. I fear this one might get lost in the shuffle of awards bait; it shouldn’t.

The rest of the box office is a grab bag, as a few curiosities trickle into theaters while holdovers including You Can See Everything and Clayface are expected to stick around the top of the charts. Among the scattered new releases: Breeder, an indie horror feature set at … a remote poodle ranch; The Mongoose, a quickie car-chase flick staring Liam Neeson; Christmas at the Kringles, a yuletide horror-comedy featuring Ron Livingston and Rachel Bilson; and mountain-climbing documentary Everest: The Other Side.

Plus, Don’t Miss These Other Movie Showings

What with it being Halloween weekend, there are also revivals of some horror classics here to scare up a good time. Check your local multiplex; some have 30th-anniversary showings of Scream, 10th-anniversary revivals of Hell House LLC or screenings of John Carpenter’s Halloween. If you’re looking for a new scare, I enjoyed the Jessica Chastain chiller Other Mommy.

If you’re looking to catch up on recent flicks,, read some of my recent reviews — including You Can See Everything, the most talked-about film since at least The Odyssey. (Which is still in a handful of theaters, by the way.) The Social Reckoning, which I liked much more than most critics (or audience members, from the looks of things), is still hanging onto a handful of screens; that’s more than can be said for the already legendary flop Digger, as the Tom Cruise film has already vanished from cinemas.

Read more of Sean Collier’s movie reviews in our guide to the arts, culture, and entertainment.

About the Author

Sean Collier is the editor-in-chief of Shady Ave and the arts and culture editor of TABLE Magazine. Before joining the TABLE Media team, he spent nearly 15 years as a writer, editor and columnist at Pittsburgh Magazine. As the in-house film critic for the top-rated WDVE Morning Show since 2009, he’s been Pittsburgh’s most widely heard voice on movies for nearly two decades. A Pittsburgh native, Sean has since 2020 appeared weekly on KDKA-TV’s popular Pittsburgh Today Live talk show. He’s the co-founder of Vigilance Theater Group and an active stand-up comedian and event host. He can be found on Instagram and Twitter at @seancollierpgh.

Photo Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures

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It’s an unlikely choice for the week’s most hotly anticipated new movie: A three-hour documentary about a comedian hanging out with a convicted fraudster. Yet there’s such a car-crash appeal to You Can See Everything, in which directors Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim spend days with Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, that crowds have lined up to see it.

You Can See Everything Documents Elizabeth Holmes’ Final Days of Freedom

Holmes, who was convicted of fraud related to her once-vaunted medical startup, Theranos, remains a beguiling figure. She’s never admitted her guilt, even in the face of monumental evidence, and has maintained a persecuted stance and an irrational optimism even as her empire fell. It’s difficult to get a read on her: Is she naive and idealistic or calculating and manipulative?

After three hours of You Can See Everything, I don’t have an answer. That’s to the film’s credit.

Holmes and her partner, Billy Evans, invited comedian and filmmaker Fielder and acclaimed documentarian (and director of the recently released Primetime) Lance Oppenheim to spend several weeks with them as incarceration loomed. Fielder, who serves more as an interviewer and a character than a filmmaker, immediately asks an obvious question: Was he selected because he’s not a serious journalist?

Holmes evades the question, but the uncertainty is immediately established — and doesn’t dissipate.

Nathan Fielder Is Another Unreliable Narrator in a Swamp of Confusion

To watch You Can See Everything is to witness three people — Holmes, Fielder and Evans — compete to out-sincere one another. Holmes says she wants a chance to demonstrate who she really is but always seems to be performing. Fielder plays the role of legitimate journalist but can’t resist inserting himself into his subject’s lives. Evans insists he’s operating in his partner’s interests but is clearly engaged in building his own brand.

It falls to one additional player (whose identity I won’t divulge) to point out the disingenuous behavior exhibited by every player in this unusual drama — in spite of the fact that she herself is also clearly, and sometimes literally, performing.

Most documentaries aim to convince the viewer of a perspective; You Can See Everything remains permanently in search of one. In that regard, it’s a noble example of the form; these filmmakers clearly followed the story as it evolved, even as it spun into something very different from what was intended.

It May Be More Fiction Than Nonfiction, But It’s Fascinating and Entertaining

There are already those who have accused You Can See Everything of being pure performance. It’s a charge that makes a certain sense; long stretches are almost certainly bits of acting rather than fly-on-the-wall observation.

To get bogged down in a Catfish-style debate over verisimilitude is, however, to miss the point. You Can See Everything is a remarkable document of the weaknesses of pursuing clarity in a post-truth world. It’s not that Fielder and Oppenheim can’t uncover the hidden reality behind Holmes’ surface; it’s that reality, in this case, may not even exist. There are only layers and layers of intention, misunderstanding and (perhaps) deceit.

Some may find that depressing; I found it exhilarating. In both quantum mechanics and human relations, the outcome changes when it’s observed. You Can See Everything may not be the most grounded documentary you’ll see, but it’s quite possibly the most alive.

Whalefall, Street Fighter and Sense & Sensibility All Hit Theaters This Weekend

Based on a well-regarded novel by Daniel Kraus, Whalefall has a setting both novel and … well, Biblical. Jay (Austin Abrams), mourning the death of his estranged father (Josh Brolin), heads into the ocean for a bit of SCUBA diving — only to be accidentally swallowed by a passing sperm whale. With 40 minutes of oxygen in his tank, Jay needs to figure out how one escapes from the belly of a whale. About half of Whalefall takes place inside the great mammal; those scenes are thrilling, viscerally upsetting and well-performed. The frame story, about Jay’s relationship with his iron-jaw Dad, is less entertaining. But you’ll be glued to your seat anyway.

The likely box-office winner — if not the most prominent movie in this week’s film-world discourse — is Street Fighter, a new movie adaptation of the popular video-game franchise. The movie assembled an intriguingly oddball cast to fill out the game’s roster, including Jason Momoa as Blanka, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson as Balrog, David Dastmalchian as M. Bison and Cody Rhodes as Guile. Trailers look fun enough — and it won’t have trouble surpassing the quality of the 1994 adaptation with Jean-Claude Van Damme.

Back to a Classic

The timing seems odd on the release of Sense and Sensibility, another adaptation of Jane Austen’s beloved novel. It’d be less surprising to see this take hit theaters somewhere adjacent the Valentine’s Day — a la this year’s Wuthering Heights — or closer to the end of the year, if an awards play was forthcoming. Still, early reviews have been positive for British director Georgia Oakley’s work; the film stars Daisy Edgar-Jones as Elinor Dashwood and George MacKay as Edward Ferrars.

Whalefall will be one of two films in this week’s Top Ten starring up-and-comer Austin Abrams, who also leads the recent horror hit Resident Evil — a film I’d call the best new horror flick of this Halloween season. Elsewhere at the multiplex, don’t expect The Social Reckoning to stick around for too long; it debuted in a dismal seventh place (although I liked it more than most critics). Aaron Sorkin’s film joins the widely panned Digger as this month’s high-profile flops; unlike Social Reckoning, I agree with the consensus on Digger and recommend that you avoid it unless morbidly curious.

Read more of Sean Collier’s movie reviews in our guide to the arts, culture, and entertainment.

About the Author

Sean Collier is the editor-in-chief of Shady Ave and the arts and culture editor of TABLE Magazine. Before joining the TABLE Media team, he spent nearly 15 years as a writer, editor and columnist at Pittsburgh Magazine. As the in-house film critic for the top-rated WDVE Morning Show since 2009, he’s been Pittsburgh’s most widely heard voice on movies for nearly two decades. A Pittsburgh native, Sean has since 2020 appeared weekly on KDKA-TV’s popular Pittsburgh Today Live talk show. He’s the co-founder of Vigilance Theater Group and an active stand-up comedian and event host. He can be found on Instagram and Twitter at @seancollierpgh.

Photo Courtesy of A24

Subscribe to TABLE Magazine’s print edition.