John Malkovich stars as a terminally ill CIA agent alongside Sam Rockwell in Martin McDonagh’s dark comedy thriller Wild Horse Nine, which opened in Czech cinemas on November 5, 2026, magazin.aktualne.cz reported.
- Martin McDonagh’s fifth feature film blends a 1973 CIA plot in Chile with the absurdist dark comedy style of his 2008 debut In Bruges.
- John Malkovich plays a cynical, dying operative named Chris, while Sam Rockwell portrays his younger partner Lee, tasked with executing him on Easter Island.
- The film features supporting performances from Steve Buscemi, Parker Posey, and Tom Waits, utilizing a visual backdrop of Easter Island’s moai statues and wild horses.
The story follows two CIA operatives in 1973 Santiago de Chile, where they help lay the groundwork for the military coup against Marxist President Salvador Allende, magazin.aktualne.cz reported. Chris, a 72-year-old agent dying of cancer, openly tells strangers about the agency’s mission to destabilize democracy. Deník reported that Chris boasts about his past involvement in operations across Guatemala, Dallas in 1963, and the Congo.
Because Chris wants to publish memoirs detailing these covert actions, the local CIA station chief—played by Steve Buscemi—dispatches both agents to Easter Island. iROZHLAS noted that Lee is secretly ordered to eliminate his ailing partner during the trip. Seznam Zprávy pointed out that despite their violent professions, the dynamic between the two men stretches far beyond standard professional collaboration.
Seznam Zprávy described Malkovich’s performance as one of his best, portraying a man teetering on the edge of life and death who mixes cold pragmatism with bizarre philosophical musings. iROZHLAS highlighted a line where Chris asks whether there is a heaven for everyone and if cancer has a place there. The script relies on sharp dialogue, vulgarisms used as punctuation, and arguments about dinosaur souls and local cheeses.
The visual style pairs the striking landscape of Easter Island with Carter Burwell’s sparse score, featuring Andean string instruments and gongs. Deník reported that the film closes on a melancholic note regarding a world where cruelty triumphs over peace, with Chris remarking that he should have just raised horses instead of shooting people.
| Film Details | Production & Release Information |
|---|---|
| Director & Writer | Martin McDonagh |
| Key Cast | John Malkovich, Sam Rockwell, Steve Buscemi, Parker Posey, Tom Waits |
| Runtime & Release | 116 minutes, Czech premiere November 5, 2026 (Falcon) |
iROZHLAS observed that the director uses the 1963 historical backdrop as a subtle parallel to contemporary anxieties, examining an era when tectonic plates of global politics shifted. Deník noted that the film pairs its harsh humor with a mournful reflection on human agency, earning an 80% rating in its review. The narrative ultimately serves as a subversive morality tale wrapped in the guise of a buddy-assassin road trip.
