On September 11, 1973, a military dictatorship took control of Chile in South America. The government was overthrown in a coup d'état that has since been revealed to have been backed by the United States. It has since been reported that the CIA was involved in supporting the junta and destabilizing the government. In the aftermath, the junta tortured and killed thousands of Chilean leftists. This film, written and directed by Martin McDonagh, focuses on two CIA agents in Santiago, months before the coup d'état, as they travel to Easter Island, which is off the coast of Chile. In some ways, this film is a reckoning of the CIA's conspiracy but not really. In others, it's akin to the film that put McDonagh on the map, his feature debut of In Bruges (2008), which follows two hitmen, one younger and one older who bicker and banter with each other in harsh words. McDonagh seems to be riffing off In Bruges but set this time in 1973 Chile, and instead of hitmen, it's CIA agents who in this context are the equivalent of hitmen.
John Malkovich (Red and In the Line of Fire) stars as Chris Carlyle, an older CIA agent who is jaded and bitter. He's dying of cancer. He's also suffering from memory loss. As a result, he wants to write his memoirs and reveal all the things he did as a CIA agent or at least his thoughts and feelings about which. One of those things is allegedly the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. His boss in the CIA doesn't want those secrets getting out, so he orders Chris' partner to kill Chris and destroy any writings or tapes from the memoir that might expose CIA secrets. There's a twist though. Chris has cancer and doesn't want to suffer through that or even through the memory loss, which could be an indication of dementia or some similar ailment. Instead of suffering through those things, Chris says he wants to be killed, which makes the CIA wanting to kill him rather pointless.
Sam Rockwell (Vice and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri) co-stars as Lee Chesterfield, the aforementioned partner of Chris. He's a fellow CIA agent, a younger one, also assigned to Santiago, and is also involved with the upcoming coup d'état. The film never explores what exactly his role is in that upcoming coup, or what the CIA was specifically doing to facilitate that coup. His main function is to bicker and banter with Chris, so much so that it defies belief that he would go on a trip to Easter Island, which isn't a part of their assignment. They don't feel like friends or that they like each other all that much, even though that kind of bitterness or aggression can often be a mask that hides male affection for another male. Yet, here, any affection feels very absent, not just hidden. The bickering and the bantering are supposed to sell their friendship to some degree, and it would have worked better if that bickering and bantering were funnier. It's really not until later that it's revealed why Lee is hanging out with Chris on Easter Island.
There are two pressing reasons why Lee would go to Easter Island with Chris. The first is that Lee is the one who the CIA wants to kill Chris and destroy his memoirs. The second is that Chris has asked Lee to be the one to euthanize him. Lee tells Chris that he could easily euthanize himself, but Chris says he's Catholic, so he can't commit suicide because he'll go to Hell. This idea is never challenged. Chris admits to have killed tons of people. Again, he's a CIA agent who is essentially a hitman. He's basically a murderer, which would also send him to Hell. The idea that he would instead ask someone else to kill him would also go against the Catholic faith because ordering someone to commit murder is just as bad, so the hypocrisy and contradiction aren't ever called out.
Unfortunately, McDonagh never convinces why we should care about any of this. It's telegraphed that Chris is going to die. It's telegraphed that Lee is going to do it. I guess the only question is when. Lee's boss wants him to do it on Easter Island. At first, so does Chris, but Chris changes his mind or his memory loss affects his wishes. Once they're on Easter Island, Chris then says he wants to go to Venice, Italy, and be euthanized there instead. The CIA boss named MJ, played by Steve Buscemi (Fargo and Reservoir Dogs), criticizes Lee for indulging Chris and his desire to go to Venice, but if MJ is critical of Lee, then he should've gotten someone else to assassinate Chris. It's never understood why Lee has to be the killer, especially when other CIA agents are present around them.
The timing of this film is a bit unfortunate or not all that helpful. Many early critics saw this film when it premiered at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival, which was before the November 2026 midterm elections in the United States. Chris' pessimism about the success of leftist activists to change the government might have been more resonant before the so-called "blue wave," which saw the success of various leftist or left-leaning candidates here in the USA. Following the midterms here in the US, Chris' pessimism falls flat. It probably would have made more sense if this film came out after the 2024 presidential elections, but I'm not sure it's reflective of the current sentiment now going into the 2028 presidential elections.
Rated R for pervasive language, strong violence, drug use and sexual references.
Running Time: 1 hr. and 56 mins.
In theaters.
