Martin McDonagh’s “Wild Horse Nine” Gallops Into Awards Season After 13-Minute Venice Ovation

Wild horses couldn’t have driven away the applause.

After Martin McDonagh’s Wild Horse Nine had its world premiere at the festival, the crowd serenaded the director and its stars with a 13-minute standing ovation on Thursday night. It would be fair to consider Wild Horse Nine an Oscar contender.

One of the film’s stars, John Malkovich, became emotional (who could blame him) as he took in the response alongside fellow star Sam Rockwell, his partner Leslie Bibb, and McDonagh. Bibb’s White Lotus co-star Parker Posey is also in the film and was in attendance, and she, too, was feeling it as the crowd continued to cheer.

Wild Horse Nine is set in 1973 and follows two CIA officers, Lee (Rockwell) and Chris (Malkovich), as they’re deployed from Santiago to Easter Island right before the Chilean military coup that took down socialist president Salvador Allende, leading to 17 years of military dictatorship under General Augusto Pinochet. Along with Malkovich, Rockwell, and Posey, the cast includes Steve Buscemi, Tom Waits, Mariana Di Girólamo, and Ailín Salas.

McDonagh’s film will compete for the Golden Lion, marking his third consecutive feature to launch on the Lido. His previous two, critically acclaimed films debuted in Venice: 2022’s The Banshees of Inisherin and 2017’s Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. The latter took home Venice’s Best Screenplay award and went on to earn seven Oscar nominations, landing two wins for Rockwell and Frances McDormand. The Banshees of Inisherin also netted McDonagh the screenplay prize at Venice, and earned Colin Farrell the best actor award there, before it notched nine Oscar nominations.

It’s an especially sweet moment for the chameleon Malkovich, who has had a long, distinguished career and seems especially moved to find himself back in a role that makes the most of his talents. Malkovich has been nominated for two Academy Awards in his career, for 1984’s Places in the Heart and 1993’s In the Line of Fire. He’s done plenty of stellar work besides, including in director Stephen Frears’ 1988 adaptation of Dangerous Liaisons and, of course, Spike Jonze’s 1999 film Being John Malkovich, which boasted a script from Charlie Kaufman.

Does the reaction in Venice to Wild Horse Nine, along with the two bursts of applause Malkovich received himself during the film, augur a third nomination for the seasoned performer?

Posed this question during a press event before the film, Malkovich said, “That is incredibly kind. For me, it’s a very nice thing. But the nicest thing is the film getting attention. And the film has several terrific performers, and it’s beautifully written and directed. That’s what matters to me.”

Wild Horse Nine is slated to hit theaters on November 6.