Malkovich and Rockwell Star in Easter Island Spy Comedy

More than 2,000 miles off the coast of Chile, the remote island of Easter Island serves as the primary setting for the new film Wild Horse Nine. The movie, written and directed by British-Irish playwright Martin McDonagh, opens in 1973 Santiago and follows two CIA operatives on a week-long vacation to the location. John Malkovich portrays Chris Carlisle, a veteran intelligence agent tasked with toppling the democratically elected government of Chile.

Carlisle is accompanied by his younger partner, Lee Chesterfield, played by Sam Rockwell. The pair are bound for the island shortly before the military coup that will install Augusto Pinochet's dictatorship. Carlisle suffers from terminal cancer and early-onset dementia. He also receives a steady dose of morphine, which loosens his tongue and leads to reckless remarks. In one scene, he tells two Chilean college students that the U.S. came to destabilize their democracy and that the effort is going well.

The central conflict involves Carlisle's plan to die on Easter Island. He asks Lee to arrange a quick, painless death administered by a professional. Lee, who cares for his partner, resists the arrangement. The plot tightens as the CIA's South American bureau chief, played by Steve Buscemi, monitors the duo closely. He views Carlisle as a liability. Lee also manages constant phone calls from his wife, portrayed by Parker Posey, who is described as boozy and unfaithful.

McDonagh shapes the narrative in the spirit of a comic Western, utilizing the island's open spaces and roaming wild horses. The dialogue is slower and more drawn out than in his previous works, lacking his typical staccato rhythms. The film features little real action until the final act. Critics note that the characters engage in a long routine of bantering and bickering while exploring the site. One student points out that the island should be called by its Indigenous name, Rapa Nui. Carlisle responds with scornful laughter, a reaction that highlights his history of overthrowing democracies with little concern for local populations.

The movie balances smugness with sentimentality, aiming to make the audience love the flawed protagonist. The cancer diagnosis and moments of soul-searching are designed to elicit sympathy for a covert architect of the Pinochet regime. Despite Malkovich's performance, some viewers question the emotional connection to a character responsible for such geopolitical upheaval. The film attempts to address the consequences of American military intervention within a comedy format.

Wild Horse Nine is currently available for viewing. The cast includes John Malkovich, Sam Rockwell, Steve Buscemi, and Parker Posey. The film runs for a duration that, according to the source, would be barely an hour if all expletives were removed. The production marks another international venture for McDonagh, who previously filmed in Belgium for In Bruges and in the American Midwest for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.