Wild Horse Nine Movie Review

Mind blown. As fascinating as this film was, I’m not sure anyone else could have kept me as involved in the story had the chemistry between John Malkovich and Sam Rockwell not been so remarkable. Every line of dialogue from those lips kept your mouth watering for what was coming next.

The storyline is heavy, funny, dark and worrisome, considering what we’re going through now, especially. What it’s saying is frightening.

In the start of the film, CIA agents Chris (Malkovich) and Lee (Rockwell) are sent from Santiago Chile to Easter Island by their division chief, MJ, played marvelously by Steve Buscemi. Buscemi is, sadly, not in the film enough, but Malkovich and Rockwell will more than make up for his loss with their bromance performance. Martin McDonagh and Rockwell have worked together in Seven Psychopaths, an important role for Rockwell, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” which earned him an Academy Award, and now this film which shows his brilliance once again. However, I believe it is Malkovich, with that uniquely probing voice who will be clutching the statue when the time comes for this years’ awards. That said, I can see Rockwell getting a mention, as well.

Back to the film. All of this happens right before the 1973 planned coup of the Chilean government. Democracies are being destroyed. The men enjoy the landscape of Easter Island, the rolling green hills, the giant heads and the island’s horses most of all. Chris is dying and it’s his looming death that takes them there and brings a certain transparency and openness to his life, especially after falling in love with one horse in particular. This beautiful animal seems to love him back.

This is so well written, has incredible characters and every actor will have you invested in the storyline. The dialogue between Malkovich and Rockwell will have you going in for a second watch. Their chit-chat back and forth shows the feelings they have for one another without getting overly theatrical… even though you sometimes want it to go farther down that road when the humor leans that way and calls for it. It’s a touch long, but it’s acceptable since McDonagh is spinning such an extraordinarily, valuable yarn… one we might want to pay attention to. It could have gone on another hour and no one would have minded because it was such a pleasure to see these two working together. After he meets a young woman named Monica, played by Mariana di Girolamo, Chris decides he wants to get some of his past out into the open to help her. She’s confused about what he’s talking about, but he warns her about people and about a planned coup which she doesn’t believe when he tells her.

McDonagh portrays violence in a dark and humorous way. Through Chris, McDonagh has his audience questioning whether the dinosaurs had souls or not, if they were ultimately bad or good and are they allowed into heaven. If heaven is just for people, were Nazis allowed in? Surely there were better dinos than Nazis. Chris, until meeting the horse I mentioned earlier, is afraid of death and worries for every creature whether they get a fair shake at the end… and will he?

McDonagh has cast actors for this film who know how to deliver lines that will affect the audience the most, philosophically and humorously. He generally gets it right and here he certainly did. This will be talked about for a long time to come. Now that Chris isn’t well and is getting older, opening his mouth about what he has done to people he shouldn’t… which is everyone, seems the right thing to do. Of course, the CIA can’t let that continue, can they? The death of JFK is brought up. It just hangs there asking the question of a great nation, who have we become?

I’ll say nothing more because you need to allow it to reveal itself to you. See this immediately! Don’t wait for streaming. You won’t be disappointed.