Title – Wild Horse Nine (2026)
Director – Martin McDonagh (In Bruges)
Cast – John Malkovich, Sam Rockwell, Steve Buscemi, Mariana di Girolamo, Parker Posey
Plot – CIA agents and close friends Lee (Rockwell) and Chris (Malkovich) take a trip to Easter Island during their placement in Chile in 1973. On the trip the two friends must confront the fact that Chris’s memory is no longer functioning how it should, leaving them with some tough decisions to make.
“She is life, and I’m leaving it”
Review by Eddie on 11/11/2026
Across the course of what is now five feature films as writer/director, a journey that started with his 2008 cult favourite In Bruges, English filmmaker Martin McDonagh has become a name associated with sharply written character focussed offerings with darkly comedic undertones, making what works with his newest film Wild Horse Nine no surprise to expecting viewers.
Partnering esteemed acting veterans John Malkovich and Sam Rockwell together for a 70’s set comedic thriller, Nine is going to appease all of McDonagh’s fans who have been there since the In Bruges experience started their fandom but despite award worthy turns from McDonagh’s leading duo, a top-tier script and some fantastic visuals courtesy of Easter Island, you can’t help but escape the feeling for all the good Nine does it’s still a curiously slight one.
Delving into the lives of Rockwell’s Lee and Malkovich’s Chris, two CIA agents that have been through thick and thin together and currently find themselves stationed in Chile in the early 70’s, Nine takes us and our main men on a trip to Easter Island where Lee and Chris must confront the depressing reality of Chris’s fractured mental state that has seen him become a major concern for the agency, including their Chilian minder MJ (an as per usual scene stealing Steve Buscemi).
Calling to mind McDonagh’s previous works with small-scale character studies and duo interactions in both In Bruges and The Banshees of Inisherin, Nine spends most of its time centred purely around Lee and Chris as the two roam the island mulling over their lives, their careers, their friendship and moths and while it is a type of cinematic joy to witness such screen legends as Rockwell and Malkovich play off one another, over Nine’s runtime you wait for it to take the next evolution in its adventure only for it to never take place.
There’s lots of ruminations here on the CIA, on growing old, on regret, on love and all manner of things that are as deep and at times superficial as McDonagh’s previous works but Nine’s unhurried approach and often slow methods halt proceedings at times and when the jokes aren’t hitting and the story seems to become anchored down, it makes it clear that this easy to enjoy but hard to love slice of life tale isn’t quite up the high standards of McDonagh’s best works.
What is undeniable is the impressive turns of our central figures.
Having previously won an Oscar in McDonagh’s most well-known work Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, Rockwell is typically great as the complicated but considered Lee while Malkovich has likely set himself up as good as he could’ve possibly done for a long illusive Best Actor Oscar, with his turn as the unique and layered Chris easily one of 2026’s most memorable turns.
With nothing but a look or a spoken word loaded with heart and care, Malkovich stands head and shoulders above all else in McDonagh’s film and as good as the likes of Rockwell, Brendan Gleeson, Colin Farrell or Frances McDormand have been in prior McDonagh productions, Malkovich’s turn here is arguably right up there with the best, the perfect matching of writer and performer, ensuring that even when Nine wonders about rather aimlessly, Malkovich’s turn is worth the price of admission alone.
An easy watch and in many ways a joy to be a part of, Nine may fail to establish itself as a film that’s going to be one you remember long into the future like the best of McDonagh’s works but you won’t soon forget the turns of its main performers, both of whom prove once more that they are in a league of their own when working with the right material.
Final Say –
Filled with some fantastic performances, including award worthy turns from its two leads, Wild Horse Nine is another highly enjoyable Martin McDonagh black comedy outing but there’s an undeniable slightness to proceedings here that hold this latest character driven trip back from potential greatness.
3 1/2 diminutive basketball players out of 5
