Directing: B+
Acting: A-
Writing: B+
Cinematography: A-
Editing: B+

Someone should file suit against whoever cut the trailer for Wild Horse Nine, because its vibe is wildly different from that of the actual movie. This trailer has been playing in theaters nonstop for months, and it gives the impression that the movie is a zippy crime comedy. It is a good movie—a very good one, even—but it’s not that.

There’s a moment when John Malkovich’s CIA agent character Chris ruminates on the idea of a Western being made from the point of view of a horse. He concludes that such a movie would be “downbeat.” That’s really the perfect word for Wild Horse Nine: downbeat. It’s also sunny and pretty to look at, set mostly on Easter Island, where Chris and his close friend Lee (Sam Rockwell) are taking a weeklong trip. It has several funny moments, but in the end it was sad enough to make me cry.

One editing choice in the trailer irritates me in particular. Anyone who has gone to a movie in the past six months has seen it: Lee gets off the phone with CIA bureau chief MJ (Steve Buscemi), signing off with “Why don’t you shove it up your flabby ass?” Chris says to him, “Who was that, your mom?” The trailer makes this look like a needling joke, using a pretty cliché line. In the film, it’s contextualized very differently. It almost seems as though Chris thinks it actually could have been Lee’s mom, and this gets into the circumstances of their friendship at this time and place.

The time is 1973, shortly before the Chilean coup d'état. Much of the dialogue is distractingly anachronistic. How commonly would someone in 1973 say, “I hear he’s been acting problematic”? Or accusing someone of “whining like a bitch”? The production and costume design all look like the 1970s (at least to someone who was not born for another three years after this), but they all talk like it’s 2026. This is a quibble, admittedly, but it took me out of the movie.

A lot of the plot strains plausibility, but I guess that’s fine. We quickly learn that Chris and Lee are professional assassins, though Chris, who is of course much older, has killed far more people. More gradually, we learn that Chris may or may not have been involved in the Kennedy assassination. By the end, the answer to that question appears to be clearer, but I still had a hard time buying it.

I had really high expectations of Wild Horse Nine, both because I bought into the hype and because writer-director Martin McDonagh has made other movies I loved: In Bruges (a film this one has a lot in common with), Seven Psychopaths, The Banshees of Inisherin. McDonagh doesn’t always quite knock it out of the park: see the deeply divisive Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. Maybe the secret sauce is for McDonagh to cast Colin Farrell in his movie. Farrell is not in Wild Horse Nine, though; Sam Rockwell is. To his credit, Rockwell is still well cast, offering some of the greatest facial expressions in response to Malkovich’s line deliveries.

Parker Posey also appears in a couple of scenes as Lee’s wife, though we only ever see her talking on the phone with him. Posey is always a welcome presence, and nearly always underused. This woman is an icon among character actors. There are two young women Chris and Lee meet at the airport (Mariana di Girolamo and Ailín Salas), and they cross paths multiple times while on Easter island, the women figuring into key plot points. But they are all merely in the orbit of Chris and Lee, and Malkovich’s and Rockwell’s performances, which really make this a movie worth seeing, even if it proves to be surprisingly downbeat.

Honestly, it feels a little like McDonagh just thought a movie set on Easter Island sounded cool, and then thought up these details to fill out the story. There’s a definite flimsiness to the plotting, but exceptionally written dialogue can go a long way. It’s Malkovich and Rockwell who make it work, to such a degree that all the talk of them both getting Oscar nominations feels like a natural progression. These guys have an easy chemistry, and are very convincing as old friends. The age gap just means one of them is reflecting on his life in a way he never has before, skirting the edges of regret.

It’s easy to see Wild Horse Nine gaining greater depth upon rewatch. It really helps to know exactly what you are getting into. I walked into this movie wanting to love it, but needed to temper my expectations as it consistently mellow vibe unfolded onscreen. I should have known better; McDonagh is known more for talkiness than overt excitement. Don’t let that trailer fool you. This is worth a look and features Oscar-worthy performances, but be prepared to be moved rather than thrilled.

*A movie with a specific mood you’ll want to match if you want to get into it.*

Overall: B+