McDonagh’s Wild Horse Nine examines CIA agents’ guilt after Chile coup
Martin McDonagh’s film *Wild Horse Nine* follows two CIA agents, played by John Malkovich and Sam Rockwell, sent to Easter Island in 1973 after helping plan the coup in Chile. Their uneasy friendship and a request for assisted death frame a story about guilt, regret and the darker legacy of American power.
McDonagh says the film is more mournful than his earlier work and explores Cold War memories, including the Bay of Pigs and the Kennedy assassination. He believes there was a conspiracy behind JFK’s killing but says its full truth may never be known; he also compares past and present US interventions, arguing that earlier authoritarianism had to be concealed whereas it is more openly expressed today.
- McDonagh’s new film centres on two CIA agents in 1973.
- The story weighs guilt, regret and Cold War history.
- He links covert past interventions with more open politics today.
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In 1973, a military coup in Chile removed the democratically elected president Salvador Allende from power. The United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is widely understood to have played a significant role in supporting the coup. This remains one of the most documented examples of Cold War-era American intervention in another nation's politics.
Filmmaker Martin McDonagh's new film *Wild Horse Nine* uses the Chilean coup as its backdrop to explore the moral reckoning of intelligence operatives. The film follows two fictional CIA agents, played by John Malkovich and Sam Rockwell, who are sent to Easter Island after the coup occurs. Through their story, the film examines themes of guilt, regret and the human consequences of intelligence operations and political interference.
McDonagh has situated this work within a broader examination of Cold War history and American foreign interventions. He references other historical moments, including the failed Bay of Pigs invasion in Cuba and questions surrounding President Kennedy's assassination. The filmmaker explores how American interventions have changed, arguing that past operations were conducted in secret whereas contemporary ones are more openly discussed.
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Originally published by The Guardian as “‘Old-timey fascism was kept secret. Now you don’t have to hide it’: Martin McDonagh, John Malkovich and Sam Rockwell on Wild Horse Nine”.