The Banshees of Inisherin · written by Martin McDonagh · 2022

Padraic follows blood from the door and finds Jenny dead with a finger lodged in her throat.

Scene 129 of 174 · ≈ 1 min on screen · Act two

Save the Cat: All Is Lost

Act oneAct two

Begins 1:19 into a 1:35 film

The story so farBefore scene 129

In 1923 on Inisherin, Padraic tries to restore his friendship with Colm after Colm suddenly cuts him off, but Colm’s escalating demand for solitude draws their neighbors into a costly feud.

Scenes 1–14
Padraic inhabits an easy routine of animals, home, pub, and daily companionship with Colm.
Scenes 15–40
Colm’s rejection exposes Padraic’s dependence on the friendship and raises the possibility that his easy manner is part of the problem.
Scenes 41–50
Padraic asks the priest to put in a word; Colm then gives Padraic a concrete threat against further contact.
Scenes 51–79
Padraic navigates gossip, violence, loneliness, and attempted apologies while trying to understand Colm’s terms.
Scenes 80–91
Colm’s first missing finger makes his demand for silence undeniable; Siobhan returns the finger and asks what would end the feud.
Scenes 92–128
The cost accumulates through more self-mutilation, Padraic’s cruelty, Siobhan’s departure, and the feud’s growing consequences.
Just before
Scene 126
Padraic waves from the cliff as Siobhan’s boat recedes.
Scene 127
From behind, Padraic stands close to the cliff edge as Siobhan’s boat recedes in the distance.
Scene 128
Siobhan sees Padraic step back from the edge and turns toward the mainland.
Scene 129
This scene

129EXT. PADRAIC’S HOUSE - DAY

We follow PADRAIC towards his house and up its path, till he sees again the blood patch on the front door, and though there’s still nothing on the grass below, with the fog now gone he now notices a little TRAIL OF BLOOD that leads away from the door and around the corner of the house...

...and as we slowly follow PADRAIC around the corner and BECOME HIS POV...

...we reveal first the TAIL, then the BACK HOOVES, then THE MOTIONLESS LITTLE BODY OF HIS DWARF DONKEY, a human THUMB and a little pool of bloody vomit in the grass around her lifeless mouth, as PADRAIC collapses to his knees beside her.

He touches her mane, he cradles her neck, he pulls her onto his lap, he pulls out a human finger that’s stuck in her throat but it’s no use, she’s long gone. The cows, the pony and even his calf stand around watching in sad silence, also knowing she’s gone.