{"id":148,"date":"2026-09-03T19:01:16","date_gmt":"2026-09-03T19:01:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/yovao.com\/index.php\/2026\/09\/03\/malkovich-and-rockwell-shine-in-mcdonaghs-wild-horse-nine-at-venice\/"},"modified":"2026-09-03T19:01:16","modified_gmt":"2026-09-03T19:01:16","slug":"malkovich-and-rockwell-shine-in-mcdonaghs-wild-horse-nine-at-venice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/yovao.com\/index.php\/2026\/09\/03\/malkovich-and-rockwell-shine-in-mcdonaghs-wild-horse-nine-at-venice\/","title":{"rendered":"Malkovich and Rockwell Shine in McDonagh’s ‘Wild Horse Nine’ at Venice"},"content":{"rendered":"

At the Venice Film Festival, writer-director Martin McDonagh\u2019s Wild Horse Nine<\/em> continues his exploration of fractured male bonds, a hallmark of his previous works In Bruges<\/em> and The Banshees of Inisherin<\/em>. Set in 1973 Santiago, Chile, the film follows two CIA agents, Chris (John Malkovich) and Lee (Sam Rockwell), on a covert mission to destabilize the democratically elected government of socialist president Salvador Allende.<\/p>\n

While the screenplay is dense with McDonagh\u2019s signature quips\u2014often leaning into self-aware cleverness\u2014the emotional core rests firmly on the performances of its leads. Malkovich portrays Chris as a man nearing the end of his life and career, suffering from cancer and heroin addiction. He is a paradoxical figure: a secret operative who has killed 68 people and possibly influenced the JFK assassination, yet who gently escorts moths out of his apartment rather than swatting them.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes I think I care about the moths in Chile more than I care about the people in Chile,\u201d Chris muses in one pensive moment, revealing the moral ambiguity that defines his existence. Despite his ruthless profession, he finds genuine solace in Hank Williams\u2019 \u201cI\u2019m So Lonesome I Could Cry\u201d and a spiritual connection with the wild horses of Easter Island, where he and Lee are dispatched to see the famous \u201cbig heads.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rockwell\u2019s Lee serves as the grounding straight man to Chris\u2019s erratic philosophy. The duo shares a long history that allows them to intuit each other\u2019s moods, even as they bicker constantly. Lee is protective of his partner yet unafraid to tell him the truth, offering a performance defined by listening rather than just line delivery.<\/p>\n

Supporting roles include Steve Buscemi as MJ, the agents\u2019 ruthless boss, and a pair of student tourists played by Ail\u00edn Salas and Mariana Di Gir\u00f3lamo. Among the film\u2019s comedic highlights is Chris\u2019s unsystematic but oddly compelling theory on which countries produce the best cheese based on their political orientation.<\/p>\n

True to McDonagh\u2019s style, the film avoids excessive sentimentality. The noble horse Chris befriends meets a gentle but unexplained end, echoing the fate of the donkey in The Banshees of Inisherin<\/em>. However, critics note that Wild Horse Nine<\/em> possesses a warmth distinct from the condescension some saw in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Malkovich embraces the role with visible delight, delivering his cynical observations with a bounce that suggests he is having fun, thereby inviting the audience to enjoy the character\u2019s flawed humanity. As one of the year\u2019s notable entries in competition, the film proves that McDonagh\u2019s often arch sensibilities still yield powerful opportunities for actors at play.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Martin McDonagh’s latest film features electric performances from John Malkovich and Sam Rockwell as CIA agents in 1970s Chile, balancing dark humor with unexpected warmth.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[393,78,392,394,398,397,395,396],"class_list":["post-148","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-john-malkovich","tag-magazine","tag-martin-mcdonagh","tag-sam-rockwell","tag-searchlight-pictures","tag-steve-buscemi","tag-venice-film-festival","tag-wild-horse-nine"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/yovao.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/yovao.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/yovao.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yovao.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yovao.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=148"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/yovao.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/yovao.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=148"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yovao.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=148"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yovao.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=148"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}