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At the London Film Festival, Martin McDonagh’s film "Wild Horse Nine" stars John Malkovich as a disillusioned CIA operative in 1973 Chile. The movie blends dark humor with poignant reflections on mortality, featuring Chris, played by Malkovich, and his colleague Lee, portrayed by Sam Rockwell, planning a coup d'état while contemplating their lives and secrets amidst the Moai statues of Easter Island.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-12,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
John Malkovich stars in Martin McDonagh's new film "Wild Horse Nine", which premiered at the London Film Festival. The movie centers around a weary, seventy-something CIA operative named Chris, who reflects on his past involvement in covert operations in places like Guatemala, Congo, and Dallas. With terminal illness and nearing retirement, Chris questions his life’s work while planning a coup against Chile's newly elected president, Salvador Allende, alongside his younger colleague Lee, played by Sam Rockwell. The film blends profane humor with profound melancholy, highlighting Chris's moral dilemmas as he grapples with the consequences of his actions and regrets. Despite not matching the intimate warmth of McDonagh’s previous work like "The Banshees of Inisherin," critics praise Malkovich and Rockwell's dynamic on-screen chemistry amid historical themes.
Written for “Wild Horse Nine Premiere” on 2026-10-12,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
This article does not take a side on a contested political
question, so it has no leaning score. That is an
answer rather than a gap: a match report or a rescue can be warmly
or critically written without being left or right, and scoring it
anyway is how approval of a subject gets recorded as a political
position.
No political leaning scored for article 73628 · logged 2026-10-12
‘You get old, you start to question shit, regret shit.’
asserted
you → get → shit
That’s where a bitter, been-there-done-that John Malkovich is at in Martin McDonagh’s latest film, Wild Horse Nine.
asserted
Malkovich → ’ → film
It’s a line that demonstrates McDonagh’s unique ability to blend profane black humour with profound melancholy, and it sets the scene for the familiarly bittersweet cocktail to come.
asserted
cocktail → ’ → scene
Malkovich is on top form as Chris, a weary, seventy-something CIA operative stationed in Chile in 1973 with his younger, burger-munching buddy and colleague, Lee, played by Sam Rockwell.
asserted
Malkovich → station → Rockwell
Chris has been involved in many high-profile, covert operations over the years (Guatemala, Congo, Dallas were ‘successful’ he says, The Bay of Pigs ‘less successful’).
asserted
Bay → involve → Pigs
No one can know that, of course – the people he’s killed and the outcomes he has influenced are things that he himself must contend with.
asserted
he → know → that
Now, reaching the end of his life and stricken with a terminal illness, he’s doing just that.
asserted
he → reach → that
He and Lee are planning the CIA’s latest operation: a coup d’état to overthrow the newly elected president, Salvador Allende, Chile’s first-ever democratically elected socialist.
asserted
He → plan → president
Chris is losing interest in his work, though, and claims he has always wanted to go to Easter Island.
uncertain
he → lose → Island
Lee agrees to go with him, partly out of empathy but partly to watch over him – their boss, MJ, played by a brilliant Steve Buscemi, is anxious that Chris keeps giving away CIA secrets.
asserted
Chris → agree → secrets
‘We’ve come down here to destabilise your democracy and it’s going great’, he tells two Chilean students at the airport… not a good start.
asserted
he → come → airport
The pair drive a rental car around the picturesque island visiting its famous Moai statues (Chris calls them ‘the big heads’) and bickering with each other and fellow tourists: Chris tells a British couple that he ‘was always on Ireland’s side’, for example.
asserted
he → drive → example
He also monologues constantly on everything from IRA bombs and Hank Williams to varieties of cheese and the wild horses that roam the island, frequently prompting hilarious cuts to Rockwell’s confused face.
asserted
that → monologue → face
The two actors make a fine pair, revelling in McDonagh’s salty, rhythmic dialogue but at any moment capable of pivoting to genuinely melancholic reflection, like a misty-eyed, morphine-induced admission from Chris: ‘I can’t wait to see the heads…
asserted
I → make → heads
This time tomorrow we will have seen the heads.
asserted
we → see → heads
This is certainly one of McDonagh’s most philosophical works, reflecting on mortality between bouts of laugh-out-loud dark comedy and all against a backdrop of real political tragedy.
asserted
This → reflect → tragedy
That broader scale means Wild Horse Nine doesn’t have quite the same intimate warmth as his masterful The Banshees of Inisherin or the tragic bite of his even-swearier In Bruges, but Malkovich and Rockwell bickering and bonding among those stern and stately statues makes for an excellent watch all the same.
asserted
bickering → mean → watch
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