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R | 1h 56m | Comedy, Drama, Mystery | 2026
In the course of over three decades, Irish scribe Martin McDonagh has penned 10 stage plays and written and directed five feature films. He won his lone Oscar in 2006 for the short film “Six Shooter.” McDonagh has a storytelling style that harkens back to Elmore Leonard, Dashiell Hammett, Carl Hiaasen, and especially Quentin Tarantino.
With films that are dialogue-heavy and low on action, McDonagh’s greatest strength is creating immensely appealing and entertaining characters who are instantly engaging (even the bad guys). His understanding of the human condition is virtually unparalleled and, for lack of a better word, endearing. He has yet to make a bad or even an average movie, and his latest film, “Wild Horse Nine,” is another easy winner.
Appearing in his third McDonagh production, Sam Rockwell (“Seven Psychopaths” and “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”) takes on another supporting role as Lee Chesterfield, a CIA operative. He’s the underling and protege of Chris Carlisle (John Malkovich), a grizzled vet in every sense of the word. Depending on the time of day, Chris is either contemplating retirement, suicide, or slow death by cancer.
Fourth Time’s the Charm
Also enjoying a repeat career achievement, this is the fourth time that Malkovich has played a CIA agent. His gonzo turn in “Burn After Reading” (2008) was followed by the excellent “RED” (2010), the incredibly average “RED 2” (2013), and now the career-capping “Wild Horse Nine.”
Despite the perpetual gray cloud following him everywhere, Chris is surprisingly jovial and upbeat. He’s sometimes even flippant, with a major disregard for authority as he laughs in the face of impending doom. The authority here is in the form of MJ (Steve Buscemi), the CIA chief based in Santiago, Chile. From what’s presented, Chris and MJ have a long-running, mutual disdain for each other.
MJ would be fine with Chris experiencing a nasty death while in the field. Chris would delight in accommodating this wish as long as it brought MJ some degree of red tape paperwork and the need to explain himself to his indifferent superiors. The plot of this film is an accidental extension of “Burn After Reading.”
Big Head Statues
The bulk of the story is set on Easter Island off the coast of Chile. It’s the home of nearly 1,000 ancient stone statues. Known as “moai,” they were created by the Rapa Nui people and date back to the 13th century. Any internet search of Easter Island will pull up images of the moai structures, for which the area is best known.
In 1973, MJ temporarily stations Chris and Lee on Easter Island, where they await an impending overthrow of the Chilean government. To McDonagh’s immense credit, the details of the coup are only alluded to; it’s made clear early on that the coup’s actual nature is something of a non-factor.
Reflecting the plots of “In Bruges” (2008), “The Banshees of Inisherin” (2022), and essentially every other McDonagh film, “Wild Horse Nine” uses the backdrop of a bigger event or locale to highlight the finer points of conflicting interpersonal relationships between the two leads.
Forced Alliance
It’s made clear early on that Chris and Lee get along not so much because they want to but because they have to. One has yet to reach the peak of his career, while the other has long passed it. The tension of waiting on an anticipated event to act while in hiding, or at least while trying to keep a low profile, only adds to the tension and their forced air of camaraderie.
While waiting to start their mystery mission in Santiago, Chris and Lee are halfheartedly ordered to remain in their borderline fleabag hotel rooms, something Chris totally ignores. By default, this forces Lee to shadow him and try to minimize any trouble he can get into by running his mouth too much.
Of the half dozen or so times this happens, the most interesting scenario is when the men cross paths with two younger women, who might be Chilean college students. As both Alicia (Ailín Salas) and in particular Monica (Mariana di Girolamo) appear to be in their mid-30s, this seems unlikely. Repeated chance meetings indicate that there’s more to them than initially indicated.
Malkovich for the Win?
McDonagh’s last two features (“Three Billboards” and “The Banshees”) received a combined 16 Oscar nominations. The early buzz is that this picture will get at least six nominations, with Malkovich the heavy favorite to nab the Best Actor prize.
This would be Malkovich’s third Academy Award nomination, and he’s never been predicted to win. Nevertheless, this year is different. He’s at the age (73 in December) to easily get the “lifetime achievement” edge, although he’ll be facing stiff competition from Matt Damon in “The Odyssey.” The results of the Critics Choice Awards, BAFTAs, Golden Globes, and Actor Awards ceremonies will provide the most accurate final tea leaves.
As of right now, Malkovich is the slight front-runner and sentimental favorite.
“Wild Horse Nine” is now playing in theaters.
‘Wild Horse Nine’
Director: Martin McDonagh
Stars: John Malkovich, Sam Rockwell, Steve Buscemi
Running Time: 1 hour, 56 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Release Date: Nov. 6, 2026
Rating: 4 1/2 out of 5 stars
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