Wild Horse Nine

by Mike McGranaghan

Even in good movies, dialogue rarely crackles anymore. Screenwriting used to put an emphasis on whip-smart banter between characters. A few contemporary writers can still pull that off – Aaron Sorkin, Charlie Kaufman, and certainly Martin McDonagh. The latter, creator of Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri and The Banshees of Inishirin, has penned another winner with Wild Horse Nine. He’s got a tremendous cast to bring the script’s sharp-tongued zingers to life.

In 1973, CIA agents Chris (John Malkovich) and Lee (Sam Rockwell) are sent to Chile to destabilize the government. There’s just one problem: Chris is terminally ill and has no hesitation about telling anybody who will listen why they’re in the country. The partners make a detour to Easter Island so he can see “the giant heads” as a last hurrah. Meanwhile, their testy, profane boss MJ (Steve Buscemi) fears Chris has been secretly writing a tell-all exposé of his time in the CIA and asks Lee to find and destroy any signs of a memoir that he can locate.

Parker Posey has a supporting role as Lee’s semi-estranged wife Margie. He occasionally calls home to check in with her. It’s a testament to Posey’s talent that her scenes entail little more than talking into a telephone yet are some of the movie’s comedic high points.

Wild Horse Nine has a plot that’s intentionally a little rambling. It isn’t so much about the mission as it is about the relationship between Chris and Lee. That relationship is one of mutual respect and equally mutual sarcasm. Although they like each other, the guys can also butt heads, especially given Chris’s growing I-don’t-care attitude. Their barbs are often hilarious, delivered with precision by Malkovich and Rockwell. Rude remarks Chris and MJ make are just as funny, as the boss is easily infuriated. You could simply listen to the film and have a good time because of how smart the dialogue is.

Rockwell, Buscemi, and Parker are all great, but this is Malkovich’s show. The actor gives one of the most accomplished performances of his career as Chris. He infuses this guy with a number of personality traits – a sense of playfulness, a world-weary resignation, a twinge of sadness knowing his days are numbered, and a flirtatiousness, especially when he meets two young female students during the trip. That’s a lot of plates to spin simultaneously. Malkovich does it beautifully, creating one of the year’s most vivid cinematic characters. In his hands, Chris is a complicated tangle of emotions as he reflects on the life and career that have defined him.

At heart, the story is about becoming obsolete. Chris knows his days are numbered. Lee does too, and he tries to figure out how to allow his partner’s remaining time to be as pleasurable as possible. I wasn’t expecting the ending to be poignant. McDonagh has long filled his work with edgy, chatty figures. This time, he follows one coming down the mountain, seeing the bottom and recognizing the trek is over. Despite many of the plot elements being common in his filmography, that unique spin allows this particular work to stand out.

Wild Horse Nine is a hugely entertaining picture that offers raucous fun without sacrificing emotion. And, in case anybody has forgotten, it’s a reminder that John Malkovich is among the greatest actors of his era.