‘Wild Horse Nine’ Has Chemistry and Heart | Fantastic Fest 2026
Wild Horse Nine is another Martin McDonagh movie that finds remorse in the scummiest of scumbags. In In Bruges, McDonagh made two unlikely hitmen hilarious and somehow empathetic, mostly through the performances of Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson. His new film, Wild Horse Nine, does something similar. The film follows two men in a tedious profession and the friendship they have maintained over time.
Like In Bruges, the film is easily called a bromance, but one in which two friends grapple with introspection and mortality. Sometimes they love each other; sometimes they aggravate each other, and sometimes they absolutely do not trust each other at all. But what is clear in McDonagh’s screenplay is a thoughtful examination of what one is willing to do for their annoying friend towards the end of their life. Here is our review after a screening at Fantastic Fest 2026.
What is Wild Horse Nine about?
McDonagh’s film, written and directed by him, is set in 1973, leading up to the military coup in Chile, and follows two men who may or may not be responsible for helping destabilize the country. Lee (Sam Rockwell) and Chris (John Malkovich) travel around, bickering like an old couple. Lee is more measured, almost serving as a caretaker to his old comrade. Chris is a much older CIA spook than Lee.
We also discover Chris has cancer and is dying. And between the morphine and pain, his ability to filter any secrets in public has become an issue. That’s when Chris hilariously tells two beautiful women at an airport that the Chilean government is about to be overthrown because of them.
Chris’s ambivalence toward his job becomes a liability for their regional bureau chief, MJ (Steve Buscemi), who already dislikes Chris for various reasons, including the possibility that Chris shot JFK. But Lee keeps trying to suppress MJ’s frustrations. Mainly because Chris already has plans to die on Easter Island. The tension becomes: can Chris keep his behavior under control long enough to die of natural causes on the island, or will MJ have to send a spook to end Chris?
This film feels like John Malkovich’s swan song
Look, I hope it’s not the case because Malkovich is an industry legend, but Wild Horse Nine feels like a swan song for the beloved actor. In a sense, it has the poetic framing of The Shootist for John Wayne. Chris is a tired career man who’s seen almost everything, and at this stage of the game, he doesn’t care what anyone thinks of him.
And honestly, if one looks at Malkovich’s career over the past decade, that “I can do whatever the hell I want” spirit can be seen in all of his choices as an actor. He chooses any role he wants and always brings the house down, regardless.
The chemistry between Malkovich and Rockwell is reminiscent of Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson in In Bruges. They act like coworkers, but there is an overwhelming history here that genuinely feels like family.
Rockwell portrays Lee as a son who is continually aggravated by his disgruntled father, but there is a subtext of love, even if he doesn’t fully say it to Chris. It’s one of the best on-screen pairings this year, and I could easily watch these men bicker about travel arrangements for hours.
Wild Horse Nine has chemistry and heart
For the most part, Wild Horse Nine feels like a spiritual companion to In Bruges. Instead of hitmen, it is two men from the CIA; instead of a vacation in Bruges, it is a possible sendoff on Easter Island; and, more than anything, it’s about two men deeply looking at their legacy as their partnership possibly comes to an end.
In the film In Bruges, the narrative mostly centers on grieving the choices of the job. Wild Horse Nine almost feels like the final stage of that grief, where a character has fully embraced acceptance. And it’s a beautiful, albeit humorous, depiction of that final submission to life’s curtain call.
Overall, Wild Horse Nine is another beautifully directed film by Martin McDonagh about men of a certain profession. Most of McDonagh’s work is driven by humor, irony, and chemistry, but this is one of his most emotionally impactful films, and Malkovich elevates it. It’s a comical yet sentimental experience that easily makes John Malkovich a lock for a Best Actor nomination.
Wild Horse Nine will release in theaters in the US and UK on November 6, 2026.
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