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Martin McDonagh Wild Horse Nine Delivers intense, layered drama laced with slapstick humor, set in an unlikely location at an important moment in history. In 1973, at the height of the Chilean coup, longtime CIA partners Chris (John Malkovich) and Lee (Sam Rockwell) travel to Easter Island, a special Chilean territory best known for its giant moai statues.
Chris is a security risk in Santiago because he is outspoken about the CIA’s work to destabilize the government of Chilean President Salvador Allende and help military junta Augusto Pinochet seize power. He is also writing a detailed memoir that could spoil CIA secrecy if it were leaked. He dies of cancer and his mental state deteriorates, causing him to become forgetful and scattered. He also appears to have been right about the CIA’s protection of intelligence protocol. After his decade of service, he has seen many secrets, and he knows the answers to major historical secrets that the CIA does not want to share. Chris tries to organize his thoughts and rationalize his past, but he doesn’t feel remorse for what he did, mostly he wants someone to hear his story.
Their CIA boss, MJ (Steve Buscemi), orders Lee to take an unstable, morphine-addled Chris somewhere where he can’t be harmed. Chris asks to go to Easter Island on his last trip to see the big heads. When they arrive, he chats up a pair of socialist female students and finds an unlikely bond with Monica (Mariana Di Girolamo). He is a supporter of Allende’s Popular Unity Party, and while Chris admires his optimistic energy, he knows that Allende will fall. Indeed, he helped plan the coup.
Meanwhile, Lee is charged with keeping her out of trouble and checking in with MJ. Lee and Chris annoy each other in the way of old friends. Chris especially enjoys confronting Lee with his rambling thoughts and strange stream of consciousness. His most absurd statement is that none of the memories are far enough back and he’s going to start with his dinosaur time. When he’s not worrying about Chris, Lee talks to his cheating wife Margie (Parker Posey) on the phone.
“… At the height of the 1973 Chilean coup, two CIA agents travel to Easter Island…”
Detailed texture Wild Horse Nine giving it a rich, authentic feel of the events of the time and deepening the characters. Both agents are morally bankrupt, but still have normal attachments to family, friendships, and sympathy for others. Not enough, mind you, to stop them from killing when ordered to, but they’re not sociopaths. Lee genuinely cares for his partner and tries to fulfill his wishes for a holiday that may be his last. Chris is less impressed with the moai than he expected, but he finds a deep empathy with the island’s wild horses.
Both Malkovich and Rockwell perform at their peak, years of experience and skill. Malkovich may be seeking a Best Actor nomination for the role. His odd, uneven delivery complements Rockwell’s animated frustration to create the perfect dark, acerbic humor. Posey’s Margie is a woman hilariously fed up with her husband’s departure, and there’s a priceless cameo from Tom Waits.
McDonagh never tried to bring his narratives to the audience, and the opening images of the Chilean coup d’état on Easter Island are confusing if you don’t know South American history. It quickly brings us up to speed, launching into the misadventures of the CIA agents as they spend time together recounting glory days and swapping war stories. Exposition fills in, starting with the coup, Easter Island, the connection between the agents, and then we delve deeper into Chris’s illness and cognition.
His other films have also had subtle, complex themes that combine political history with personal stories such as Banshees of Inishiren and Three billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri. McDonagh turns our anxiety into a dark, humorous excursion. A delicately balanced blend of humor, violence, politics, history, geography and a strained friendship between killers is hard to come by. McDonagh frames it in his signature style, creating the perfect setting for the portrayal of three talented actors at the top of their game.
