Wild Horse Nine: 124 Minutes of CIA Chaos on Easter Island

Martin McDonagh’s new film, Wild Horse Nine, opens in Santiago in 1973. John Malkovich plays Chris Carlisle, a CIA operative preparing for a one-week vacation to Easter Island. The setting is chosen for its isolation, more than 2,000 miles off the coast of Chile.

Chris is on the verge of a major coup that will remove President Salvador Allende from power. In a scene at the airport, he tells two Chilean college students that the United States is coming to destabilize their democracy and that the effort is going well. This slip of the tongue is unusual for the character, who usually keeps his secrets close.

The film reveals that Chris suffers from terminal cancer and early-onset dementia. He also takes a steady drip of morphine. These conditions have loosened his tongue and clouded his judgment. Chris announces to his younger partner, Lee Chesterfield, played by Sam Rockwell, that he plans to die on Easter Island. He asks Lee to arrange a quick, painless death administered by a trusted professional.

Lee is reluctant to accept this plan. He is also being monitored by the CIA’s South American bureau chief, played by Steve Buscemi. The bureau chief sees Chris as a growing liability. Lee must also answer frequent phone calls from his wife, played by Parker Posey, who is described as boozy and openly unfaithful.

The movie spans 124 minutes. Critics note that the dialogue is slower and more drawn out than McDonagh’s usual staccato rhythm. There is little physical action until the final act. The plot relies heavily on the banter between Chris and Lee as they explore the island. One student in the film suggests they use the Indigenous name for the place, Rapa Nui, but Chris reacts with scornful laughter.

The film attempts to blend a spy thriller with the pacing of a comic Western. It uses the wide, open spaces of the island to shape its tone. The story focuses on the consequences of American military intervention in Latin America during the 1970s. McDonagh’s characters often mock sensitivities about language and culture while engaging in those very debates.

The narrative gives Chris opportunities for guilt and soul-searching between jokes. The film asks the audience to sympathize with a key architect of the Pinochet dictatorship. Steve Buscemi’s character remains skeptical of Chris’s motives throughout the trip. Parker Posey’s character adds a layer of domestic friction through her phone calls.

The film concludes with a focus on the relationship between the two agents. It ends without a major action sequence or a violent climax typical of the genre. The credits roll after the final scene on the island. The movie is now in theaters.

Wild Horse Nine is a co-production between the United States and Ireland. It features a cast that includes John Malkovich, Sam Rockwell, Steve Buscemi, and Parker Posey. The film was shot on location in Easter Island and Santiago. It premiered earlier this month.

The release follows McDonagh’s previous work, which included The Banshees of Inisherin and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. Those films were set in Ireland and the American Midwest, respectively. This film marks his first major project set in South America.