Wild Horse Nine Review (2026 BFI London Film Festival)
It’s the 1970s. A world without mobile phones and computers, smoking is the norm, and there’s global upheaval in the shape of Watergate and an international oil crisis. Meanwhile, in Wild Horse Nine, two CIA men are taking a break from their day jobs in Chile to enjoy the tranquillity of Easter Island, surrounded by the uniquely majestic Moai statues. At least, that’s what they’d like everybody to think.
As played by John Malkovich (In The Hand of Dante) and Sam Rockwell (The Bad Guys 2), Chris and Lee are hardly keeping a low profile. With their big mouths – Chris especially – loud shirts and habit of filming everything they see, they stand out from the other tourists. Except, of course, they’re not really on holiday. Chris is soon bored of seeing what he calls “the heads” and is preoccupied with writing his memoirs before his already unreliable memory fades entirely and the reason for his regular doses of morphine catches up with him.
His habit of telling strangers about his hitherto classified work is giving his bureau chief, M J (Steve Buscemi, Happy Gilmore 2), a serious headache. And he’s given Lee strict instructions to collect all the notes Chris has made in preparation for the volume, and make sure that he doesn’t leave Easter Island. Ever.
On an idyllic Pacific island setting, we’re thrust into a spy thriller, albeit an unexpected one. We’re also in the world of director/writer Martin McDonagh (The Banshees of Inisherin), one where two men who are also friends – even if the relationship is prickly – find themselves facing a dilemma and perhaps even the inevitable. There’s a whiff of In Bruges, with the bureau chief breathing down their necks and one of the men acting as minder to his friend, but Wild Horse Nine is even darker.
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Unusually for McDonagh, it’s also a good deal more political, as the film shows the two agents discussing the coups and political upheaval they’ve caused with an arrogant levity. It’s as if it was – and still is – all a game, especially the one big job that Chris insists he took on in the mid-60s.
Death looms over the entire proceedings, even the first half, which has a much lighter tone, but throughout McDonagh plays a blinder with his screenplay. The sparring, sometimes affectionate and sometimes otherwise, between Malkovich and Rockwell is a joy, especially their discussion on the relationship between democracy and cheese. Their energetic and constant sparring is the source of much of the film’s darkly captivating humour, and the two actors sink their teeth into it with relish.
But underneath it all is a gut-wrenching yet compassionate portrait of male friendship. Rockwell is playing more to type – the film reunites him once more with McDonagh after Seven Psychopaths and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, which won him the Best Supporting Actor Oscar – but the ageing Chris is easily the best role Malkovich has landed in years, and he grasps it with both hands. Despite his eccentricities, dodgy memory and mouthy arrogance, he’s undeniably loveable.
McDonagh’s many fans will welcome his latest with open arms. Whether Wild Horse Nine will turn out to be the award contender so many are predicting remains to be seen, but there’s no doubt that yet again he’s given us a richly textured yet dark story with plenty of heart just below the surface. He never disappoints.
★★★★
Playing at the BFI London Film Festival on 9th, 10th and 18th October / John Malkovich, Sam Rockwell, Steve Buscemi, Parker Posey, Tom Waits / Dir: Martin McDonagh / Searchlight Pictures / 15
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