There was disappointment for Ireland's main Oscar hope The Banshees of Inisherin on Sunday night, but director Martin McDonagh has been singing the praises of the cast.
The tragicomedy’s main cast of Colin Farrell, Brenden Gleeson, Kerry Condon, and Barry Keoghan were all nominated for Oscars, bringing the film’s tally to nine nominations, along with McDonagh’s nominations for Best Director and Original Screenplay.
However, it lost out to the night’s big winners Everything, Everywhere All At Once and All Quiet On The Western Front.
Speaking during the pre-Oscar champagne carpet event, the 52-year-old London-Irish director McDonagh said it is "kind of strange" that his Irish film has won the hearts of the nation after arriving at the 95th Academy Awards.
"It's been crazy. It’s done (well) all over the world, it’s kind of strange for a small-ish Irish film to have done all that, but we like it."
Farrell, who arrived on the carpet with his son Henry Tadeusz Farrell, lost out in the Best Actor category to Brendan Fraser for his role in The Whale, while Gleeson, Condon and Keoghan were also disappointed at the Oscars.
Speaking about Farrell’s performance, McDonagh added: "He’s so open to being broken, he’s so sensitive, and he’s so nuanced, both heart-breaking and funny all at the same time. His change from the first scene to the end is momentous so I’m not sure if I’ve seen that on screen before. He gets my vote."
He continued talking about Keoghan and Condon respectively: "(Barry Keoghan) is incredible.
"I kind of studied his work, even though he's quite young, for seven or eight years. He's been doing brilliant, idiosyncratic things. I’m so glad his brilliant work in this has been recognised.
"Kerry (Condon) and I go back 22 years, even though she’s still very young. She was brilliant in a play of mine that…so I’ve always known how good she is, but I’m so glad that the whole world is getting to see that now."
Thurles-born actress Condon, 40, said she is "so happy" to be at the Oscars that she does not mind what the outcome is.
She said: "It’s the end of the road so I hope I won’t get too emotional… I’m exhausted too and when I get exhausted, I start crying. I’m just so happy to be here, I don’t mind what happens."
Asked if she had an acceptance speech prepared, she said: "I have got people in my mind that I don't want to forget but I haven’t written anything, no."
Condon was dressed in a bright yellow Versace gown, which she said had been the colour of her childhood bedroom.
"It makes me feel like me," she said.
Gleeson, 67, said he thought The Banshees of Inisherin was McDonagh's best writing to date.
"Honestly, no one is going to believe me when I say this, but I'm just taking joy out of all this. It's a historic occasion. It’s a cinematic story that’s ours, that works in a cinematic town and all over the world.
"What’s great about Martin is he didn’t want to come back with anything just to make it happen. I think this is his best writing so far… it could have been a very small film for a very small audience in terms of its reach but now it’s universal reach that’s what this is all about. It’s fantastic."
Meanwhile, Paul Mescal, who also lost out on an Oscar for his role in Aftersun, said he feels like he is on a "crazy train" after being nominated for his first Academy Award.
Asked on the event’s carpet how he felt, he replied: "Like I’m on a crazy train right now and I haven’t really caught my breath."
Mescal recalled how Fraser had reached out to him following the nominations, adding: "Brendan is one of my idols and has been for a long, long time.
"So, him reaching out… it was so unbelievable. He’s just an incredibly generous man."
Additional reporting: Press Association
