Wild Horse Nine

Chris Carlisle, the enigmatic protagonist in Wild Horse Nine, is a man of fascinating contradictions. Is he a hero or a villain? It depends on who you ask, but his legacy feels checkered either way.

His reckoning becomes the focus of this powerfully acted two-hander, an elegiac drama from director Martin McDonagh (The Banshees of Inisherin) that confronts mortality with biting humor and complex introspection.

Vividly immersing us in its period setting while adeptly navigating some abrupt tonal shifts, the film’s acerbic, sharp-tongued dialogue carries a provocative subtext beneath its surface quirks.

As the film opens in 1973, aging CIA operative Chris (John Malkovich) is carrying plenty of emotional scars, a morphine addiction, and a nihilistic mindset that perhaps stems from a recent terminal diagnosis.

He’s based in Chile with his neurotic partner and enabler, Lee (Sam Rockwell), who he persuades to accompany him to Easter Island ahead of an impending political coup. The plan is for Lee to help Chris handle some affairs and end his life on his own terms.

Chris has no filter, which is both his most amusing and most annoying quality, although his condescending sarcasm masks an underlying despair and regret. “Sometimes we’ve got to do a terrible thing for the greater good,” he rationalizes.

Interacting with some eccentric locals and flirting with a couple of Chilean tourists, he muses about moths, cheeses, and dinosaurs with a randomness that suggests either an ambivalence or lack of self-awareness.

However, the film also hints that Chris is harboring secrets that some people — especially his shadowy bureau chief (Steve Buscemi), who seems particularly concerned about Chris’ plan for a memoir — would prefer he take to the grave. Is Chris being petty and mean-spirited, or painfully honest?

As thoughtfully rendered by both actors, the friction between Chris and Lee provides some big laughs. Malkovich commands the spotlight, although Rockwell is more than just a straight-man sidekick. None of the characters is very sympathetic, with their respective off-center moral compasses and past misdeeds.

Despite some uneven narrative momentum, McDonagh’s nuanced screenplay creates some intriguing interpersonal dynamics. He subtly escalates the stakes as the film transitions into a darker sociopolitical thriller in the second half.

It adds up to a visually stylish and dramatically captivating travelogue that enables Wild Horse Nine to layer its bleakness with tenderness and humanity.

Rated R, 118 minutes.