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(Left to right) Colin Farrell in "The Banshees of Inisherin," Saoirse Ronan in "Brooklyn" and Daniel Day-Lewis in "In the Name of the Father."
Searchlight Pictures; KERRY BROWN/FOX SEARCHLIGHT PICTURES/COURTESY EVERETT COLLECTION; UNIVERSAL/COURTESY EVERETT COLLECTION
For some, St. Patrick’s Day is all about donning the green, wandering down to the pub, ordering a pint of Guinness and dialing up the Clancy Brothers on the jukebox. But you know what else is a great way to celebrate the holiday? Cozying in and streaming a film that celebrates the Emerald Isle or explores the Irish immigrant experience here in America. Here are 13 Irish movies to stream this St. Patrick’s Day.
The Banshees of Inisherin (R, 2022)
Hey, an In Bruges reunion! Brendan Gleeson, 68, and Colin Farrell reteam with writer-director Martin McDonagh, 53, for this charmingly quirky dramatic comedy that racked up nine Oscar nominations. Set on a remote, wind-lashed island off of the western coast of Ireland, the story centers on a pair of longtime mates Colm (Gleeson) and Pádraic (Farrell) who, for some inexplicable reason, sever their friendship. It’s hardly mutual. Colm just decides one day that he doesn’t like his buddy anymore. The confused Pádraic does everything he can to mend things while everyone on the island offers their unsolicited two cents. Both stars are absolutely note-perfect, as are Kerry Condon and Barry Keoghan in smaller but no less vivid roles that bring the odd rural rhythms of the tiny Irish community — and breathtaking island scenery — to life.
Watch it: The Banshees of Inisherin on Max
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Belfast (PG-13, 2021)
Kenneth Branagh, 63, travels back in time to the place of his youth — Belfast, 1969. Mostly shot in gorgeous black and white, Branagh’s lyrical valentine tells the story of a 9-year-old boy named Buddy (the adorable Jude Hill) and his working-class family who get swept up in the political and cultural turbulence of the times. Caitríona Balfe and Jamie Dornan are excellent as Buddy’s concerned parents, while Judi Dench, 89, and Ciarán Hinds, 71, soar like a pair of generous and frisky wise old owls as Granny and Pop. This is as personal as personal filmmaking gets; it sparkles like an emerald.
Watch it: Belfast on Amazon Freevee
Brooklyn (PG-13, 2015)
Saoirse Ronan was nominated for a best actress statuette for her performance in this beautiful, melancholy and hopeful immigrant’s tale. And after watching it, you’ll probably agree that it’s a crime that she didn’t win. Ronan, who grew up in Ireland, plays a young Irishwoman with a head full of dreams who leaves her parochial small town behind and ventures across the Atlantic to start a new, exciting life in 1950s New York City. Of course, the big city hardly embraces her with smiles and open arms as she chases after the American dream. But her homesickness soon starts to fade when she meets a blue-collar Italian immigrant (Emory Cohen channeling Stanley Kowalski). Life in her adopted homeland is looking up … until she has to return to Ireland due to a family tragedy and is forced to decide which country is truly her home. Thanks to Ronan, Brooklyn belongs right next to Avalon and The Godfather: Part II in the pantheon of movies about the immigrant experience.
Watch it: Brooklyn on Max
The Departed (R, 2006)
Martin Scorsese’s best picture winner isn’t set in Ireland, but it does take place in our closest approximation, South Boston. This crackling cat-and-mouse game stars Leonardo DiCaprio as an undercover cop assigned to infiltrate the neighborhood’s Irish mafia while Matt Damon, 53, plays a young, streetwise gangster who infiltrates the state police to channel intel back to the mob’s menacing, hair-trigger boss (Jack Nicholson, 86). Like a fuse lit at both ends, it’s only a matter of time before these two moles finally intersect and the whole thing goes kaboom. Loyalty on the mean streets is obviously a theme that Scorsese, 81, has trafficked in before, but The Departed shows us a director at the top of his game.
Watch it: The Departed on Prime Video
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