Martin McDonagh's "Wild Horse Nine" mixes CIA intrigue with Easter Island backdrop

Martin McDonagh’s latest film, Wild Horse Nine, is set largely on Easter Island, a remote location more than 2,000 miles off Chile’s coast. The story opens in Santiago in 1973, where CIA operative Chris Carlisle (John Malkovich) prepares for a coup that will soon overthrow President Salvador Allende. Carlisle, who is battling terminal cancer and early-onset dementia, confides to two Chilean students that his mission is to destabilize their democracy.

Accompanied by his younger partner Lee Chesterfield (Sam Rockwell), the pair travel to Easter Island for a brief vacation. While there, Carlisle reveals his wish to end his life on the island, asking Lee to assist. Lee resists, and the duo must also contend with monitoring from the CIA’s South American bureau chief, portrayed by Steve Buscemi, who views Carlisle as a liability. Intermittent calls from Lee’s unfaithful wife, played by Parker Posey, add further tension.

The film adopts a slower, more contemplative dialogue style, diverging from McDonagh’s typical rapid exchanges. Critics note the lack of overt action until the final act and describe the banter between the leads as tiresome. A college student’s correction of the island’s name to Rapa Nui prompts a dismissive reaction from Carlisle, highlighting his disregard for the peoples affected by past interventions.

"We came down here to destabilize your democracy, and it is going great," Carlisle says, underscoring the film’s darkly comic take on historical U.S. covert operations.

While the narrative attempts to humanize Carlisle through his illness, reviewers remain skeptical about eliciting sympathy for a character linked to the Pinochet regime. The film’s ambition to address the consequences of American military involvement is acknowledged, though some argue the execution feels more like an irreverent tourist’s perspective than a substantive critique.