I think Colin Farrell outshines Brendan Gleeson in this one. It’s the best performance of his career.
I’m not sure you can properly explain the ending without addressing the subtext of the civil war. Or the fingers.
I don’t see any references to the civil war, beyond the fact that it’s happening in the background. Much like the banshees, I think it’s a macguffin?
Maybe we should move that to the thread itself, just to avoid putting too many spoilers in here.
Spoilers
The fingers is one of the criticisms I have of the movie, because it’s such an extreme reaction that it drowns out the point. The point is that Colm is in so much pain that he will do literally anything to keep Padraic away from him, but once he takes his fingers off, I think you start thinking about whether he might have a far more serious illness.
I think that’s the playwrite in Martin McDonagh going ham. It would probably play better on a stage than it does in the movie.
I have the same problem with friendship when it comes to the ending. If it’s a movie about friendship, then at that point nothing is resolved. We have no idea where their relationship is going.
It’s deliberately vague, but I think we’re just seeing where the characters are at that point in the story. Colm is smiling at the sun, which is an indication that he’s finally coming out of his depression. The demons have raged, and now they’re fading. He’s lost a few fingers, but he survived.
It’s a lot worse for Padraic, who has been far more seriously wounded by his own madness.
If he had just listened to wise young Dominic, none of it would’ve happened. “What’s this mope so mopey for? He’s just a fecking man, lads! A fat, ginger man!”.
Pretty solid take in my opinion. The thing that didn’t land for me was the middle bit, where everyone and Colm was just going on about themselves after he did the first big thing, that smacked a bit wrong. The relationship between him and Colin’s character seemed right, but the town just accepting it with total knowledge pushed me a bit.