McDonagh's Wild Horse Nine pairs Rockwell and Malkovich

Martin McDonagh's latest film, Wild Horse Nine, stars Sam Rockwell and John Malkovich as two morose CIA operatives. Set in 1973, the pair are stationed in Santiago, Chile, preparing a covert operation against President Salvador Allende before a surreal detour to Easter Island.

Sam Rockwell plays Lee, the younger of the two seasoned killers. John Malkovich is Chris, an older operative with a serious morphine habit and a penchant for indiscreetly discussing his past wet jobs. Their hated boss, MJ, is played by Steve Buscemi. The film pairs them in what the Guardian's review calls an acid bromance, a dynamic familiar from McDonagh's earlier works like In Bruges and The Banshees of Inisherin.

A Surreal Detour to Easter Island

Just before their critical mission, Chris insists on a trip to Easter Island, and Lee must accompany him as a minder. The review notes the setting brings out drollery, particularly with the island's famous statues. The two antiheroes derisively call them the heads, and are repeatedly corrected by other tourists for not using the indigenous terms Rapa Nui for the island and Moai for the statues. The reviewer suspects this is a 2026 concern, not one from 1973.

The Unspooling of a CIA Legend

During their trip, an awful truth about Chris begins to surface. Malkovich's character, often delivering long speeches in his nasal croon, is revealed to be one of the most important figures in CIA and American history. He has done the state some service, but they can't know it. His cynicism extends to a derision for civil rights liberal movements and a soft spot for the IRA against the British.

McDonagh's American Shift

The Guardian's review states that Wild Horse Nine brings McDonagh to a US setting with American characters, following 2012's Seven Psychopaths. This shift, the review argues, can bring out something less interesting in the director: more violence, more strenuous sweary machismo, and less comedy and charm. The film features persistent, slightly jarring violent flourishes that coexist with sentimentality.

There are some laughs and lively moments, but the sentimentality might not erase audience concern about a subplot involving Lee's wife and kids, whose wellbeing seems forgotten by the end. The review concludes it is not a McDonagh classic, but offers nice riffing from Rockwell and Malkovich.