Horse a touching examination of friendship
Workplace relationships can be tricky. Sometimes personalities clash and it becomes a chore showing up each day, having to rub shoulders with someone who irritates you, or worse, you despise. If you’re lucky, you find a kindred spirit, someone you click and bond with during and because of the work. That happens with particular jobs, those that are so unique you can’t really discuss them with those outside your field. Such is the case with Lee and Chris. They’re CIA agents. They kill people for a living. That’s not really something you can talk about when your wife asks how your day was. Fortunately, they look at their work in the same light and as a result have grown close. However, just how close is being put into question on their new assignment, one that’s going to test their friendship in ways neither one of them wants.
The dynamics of male friendships have been a running theme in the films of Martin McDonagh. In Bruges (2008) and The Banshees of Inisherin (2022) both focused on their complexity and oft times contradictory nature. His latest, Wild Horse Nine, returns to this topic, the result being a poignant examination of the limits of such relationships and how the loyalty of those involved is sometimes tested in unexpected ways.
Lee (Sam Rockwell) has been tasked with an impossible situation. Sent to Chile to foment civil unrest in an effort to destabilize its government, he’s been ordered to then take his partner, Chris (John Malkovich), to Easter Island and kill him. Seems the elder agent has been acting inappropriately and has mentioned writing his memoirs. Afraid of what he might reveal, their boss, MJ (Steve Buscemi), wants Chris silenced, and who better to do the job than the man closest to him.
What MJ doesn’t know is that Chris is waging a losing battle with cancer and he’s asked Lee to kill him. Problem is, he’s suffering from dementia and at times doesn’t remember this request or even where they are or what their mission is. To say that Lee is in a pickle is a gross understatement.
Without question, Horse is the best written film of the year. It’s not simply McDonagh’s dialogue, which is clever, funny and flows like water running downhill, that stands out, but it’s the oddball topics and narrative devices he employs that make his script exceptional. The pair’s conversations regarding who they’ll meet in heaven, why certain countries have good cheese and others don’t, what happened to the dinosaurs after they died and whether there were any good Nazis are just a few of the subjects covered, all done with a wry sense of irony that drives home the true purpose of these exchanges.
It’s a pure delight listening to Rockwell and Malkovich bandy back and forth during these sequences, each actor at the top of their game, both obviously relishing the material that’s been handed to them. There’s an ease and sense of familiarity between them that creates a sense of genuine intimacy, convincing us Lee and Chris are longtime friends and confidantes, that they love each other in ways they cannot explain and would never be discussed. There are moments when their silence tells us all we need to know about them and their bond.
Malkovich is exceptional. He’s never been more vulnerable or accessible as he is here, the actor striking the correct tone of wry regret throughout, suffused with moments of gallows humor. This poignantly convey Chris’ humanity as well as the sense of fragile peace he’s come to. Razor sharp in one scene, lost and confused in the next, belligerent and childish in others, this the kind of role actors dream of and Malkovich nails every single moment, giving us a sympathetic portrait of an, at times, deplorable man.
Saddled with a more difficult assignment, Rockwell shines as well, driving home Lee’s sense of confusion and moral doubt effectively. The character is more a juggler than a spy here, trying to keep a lid on Chris and his erratic behavior, dealing with MJ’s unreasonable demands and contending with his ex-wife (Parker Posey), whose increasingly frantic phone calls suggest something is amiss back in the states. You can’t help but sympathize with the guy, Rockwell’s innate charm going a long way toward keeping us in his corner.
Touching, funny and very, very smart, Wild Horse Nine is one of the year’s best films, ultimately revealing itself as a meditation on regret. Lee’s adherence to the Catholic faith looms large in the film and in his way, he’s trying to make amends for all his many sins. Albeit, he can never fully atone for his actions, but the realization that he has erred and is genuinely sorry for what he’s done counts for something. By the end, he achieves a sense of clarity where his life and what’s he’s done with it is concerned. Chris leaves the viewer with a final piece of advice, we’d all do well to adhere to. In Theaters.
Being Huemann a testament to courage
Without question, the greatest thing Sian Heder accomplishes with her fascinating new film Being Huemann, is putting the viewer in the shoes of its many characters. A recounting of the 26-day siege of the San Francisco Federal Building led by activist Judy Huemann, the film is at its most effective when it forces the viewer to see the world through the eyes of the disabled. Whether it be a woman in a wheelchair, a blind man, someone who must sleep in an iron lung or any of the myriad others who are afflicted, the script by Kristen Joiner, Heder and Huemann pays special attention to their everyday trials. It proves to be a bracing education for those of us who take for granted the ease with which we get up in the morning, drive to work and walk about town.
In 1972, a small group of senators snuck Section 504 into the Rehabilitation Act. This would ensure that people with disabilities would have equal access to education, employment and other services, while calling for physical changes granting them easier access to buildings and during travel. After five years, it has yet to be signed and has fallen to Joseph Califano (Mark Ruffalo), the new secretary of Health and Human Services, to address. Under pressure from President Jimmy Carter to cut costs in his agency, he’s been reticent to sign the edict because of the costs of implementing it.
However, after five years, the patience of those directly affected has run out, chief among them, Judy Heumann (Ruth Madeley). Fed up with the lack of progress, she leads a seemingly impromptu protest that results in her and approximately 150 other people with disabilities to take up residence in the San Francisco Federal Building, vowing to stay until 504 is signed. Their nearly monthlong siege would bind them in ways they never anticipated.
The script employs an economical narrative approach, moving from one key moment or incident to the next, efficiently dispensing with the necessary historical context. Heder’s approach makes for a film we’re engaged with from the start, the background fascinating, the cause compelling.
The gathering proves educational for the characters and viewers as well. Thrown together, the occupants experience first-hand the trails each of them face, their empathy for one another growing as each day passes. Most importantly, they come to realize their self-worth. As Brad Lomax (Antwan Tolliver), afflicted with multiple sclerosis says, “The world starts to treat you like you’re invisible and you start to believe it.” This experience prompts many to reevaluate this notion, a sense of self-assurance the most important gain for many from this experience.
All these characters are presented in an unvarnished manner, Heumann in particular. While her strength and determination are commendable, at times she fails to take others’ concerns into consideration and often allows her anger trump her good judgment. Madeley gives a fierce yet sympathetic performance, rising to the challenge of bringing Heumann’s complex nature to life.
Perhaps the most affecting moment in the film occurs in the third act when Heumann and others travel to Washington, D.C. to confront Califano. With no vehicles configured for the wheelchair bound to travel safely, they are loaded into the back of a moving truck like so much chattel. This scene forcefully drives home that Heumann and her peers suffer indignities such as this on a daily basis. In an instant, Being shows us how important the passage of Section 504 was while underscoring the courage of those who pushed for its passage. Streaming on Apple TV+.
This article appears in November 12-18, 2026.
