Issue 115: The Wild Horse Nine issue – Out now!
Issue 115
If there’s one thing lacking in the current film landscape at the moment it’s reliability. Having filmmakers who have mastered their craft and can would be a safe bet to deliver at least a very least a good film, but probably a very great one. Martin McDonagh is one of those rare birds, and his new work, Wild Horse Nine, seems primed to lodge itself in the hearts and minds of both cinema audiences and awards voters come the 2028 “season”. The film opens as a comedy and then evolves quite suddenly and unexpectedly into a tragedy, while also offering a stinging critique of the US’s underhand involvement in manipulating the path of democracy across the globe.
Chris (John Malkovich) and Lee (Sam Rockwell) are CIA operatives who have done their fair share of dirty work, with the toppling of Chilean socialist premier Salvador Allende being their most recent project. Following a job well done, they’re heading over to Easter Island to see “The Big Heads” and watch from afar as Chile crumbles. But there’s also an ulterior motive for the trip, as Chris is not a well man and his boss MJ (Steve Buscemi) doesn’t want the now-combustible and guilt-ridden agent to start spewing out government secrets. And so Lee is forced to play the role of both friend and handler. With it being a McDonagh film, it’s stuffed with witty repartee and comic callbacks, with Malkovich revealing a largely untapped gift for comedy and generating an intoxicating chemistry with his co-star Rockwell. It’s a shot of pure entertainment, but with serious intent bubbling underneath, and when it came to selecting the cover(s!) of our 115th issue, it was really a no-brainer. Inside we have detailed inquisitions with cast and crew, plus additional stories looking into the cinematic allure of JFK conspiracy theories, and an exploration into films that have been made in the most far-flung locations imaginable.
On the cover...
Zoé Maghamès Peters is a self-taught illustrator based in Bordeaux, France. She works with bold colours and clean lines while playing with patterns. Her influences include fashion and graphic archives from the 20th century. This cover (her first!) has allowed for a great playground for ’70s imagery and playful overlaps – all things she loves.
Other illustrations in this issue are by Carolina Altavilla, Polina Jakimova, Elio Moavero, Stéphanie Sergeant, Nick Taylor and Hayley Watson.
Inside this issue
Wild Horse Nine
David Jenkins on the dysfunctional buddy formula perfection of Martin McDonagh’s riotous new film.
Straight Shooter
A conversation with John Malkovich, who tears up the screen as a melancholy CIA wetjobber in Wild Horse Nine.
The Spy Who Loved Me
Leila Latif speaks to Sam Rockwell who, in Wild Horse Nine, brings an edge of darkness to his cuddly, nice-guy role.
Man at the Top
Hannah Strong speaks to the Big Man himself, Martin McDonagh, on the comic alchemy of Wild Horse Nine.
Revolutionary Acts
Chilean actor Mariana di Girolamo on taking the call from Martin McDonagh and the challenges of her first role in English.
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?
Celebrating the immaculate craft of Wild Horse Nine via interviews with cinematographer Ben Davis, costume designer Eimer Ní Mhaoldomhnaigh and art director Denis Schnegg.
I’d Rather Jack
Mark Asch fills up his pinboard with a raft of conspiracy film and literature inspired by the assassination of JFK.
Working Remotely
Inspired by Wild Horse Nine’s Easter Island shoot, we list 10 of the most far-flung film shoots in film history.
In the back section
Wild Love: On the set of Laika’s Wildwood
Hannah Strong heads to Portland, Oregon, to visit one of the world’s central hubs of gorgeous, handmade, stop-frame animation.
Lance Oppenheim
With Primetime, the non-fiction specialist switches to drama for a discomforting exploration of a lurid US TV sensation.
Los Javis
Javiers Ambrossi and Calvo (aka Los Javis) on their celebrated, time-spanning reclamation of lost queer histories, La Bola Negra.
Lee Chang-dong
The Korean maestro returns with a sumptuous survey of class, capitalism and what it means to love someone in Possible Love.
Paweł Pawlikowski
The Polish writer/director behind the film Fatherland on why he craves pure, dramatic simplicity in the stories he tells.
Amanda Kramer
Imitation, gender and Joanna Hogg fandom are key inspirations for the restless writer/director/artist behind absurdist comedy By Design.
Beth de Araújo
Personal experience became a dark inspiration for this second-time director’s unflinching and wide-ranging exploration of childhood trauma, Josephine.
Home Ents
Covering new Blu-ray releases of Marie-Claude Treilhou’s Simone Barbes or Virtue, Peter Jackson’s The Frighteners, Kaizo Hayashi’s Zipang, Fred Dekker’s The Monster Squad, Ngozi Onwurah’s Welcome II the Terrordome, Geoffrey Wright’s Romper Stomper, Takashi Miike’s Visitor Q and Gen Sekiguchi’s Survive Style 5+.
Also in the issue...
David Jenkins reports on an alternative route through the 2026 Venice Film Festival, Marina Ashioti sings the praises of the ever-reliable San Sebastian Film Festival, while she also writes on blasphemy as a resource for queer creative rebellion, inspired by a new restoration of Ken Russell’s The Devils.
In review
Eleanor Coppola’s Making Marie Antoinette
Lance Oppenheim’s Primetime
Marie Kreutzer’s Gentle Monster
Dominik Moll’s Case 137
Frank Berry’s The Lost Children of Tuam
Jeannie Finlay’s All Rivers Spill Their Stories to the Sea
Alejandro G Iñárritu’s Digger
Los Javis’ La Bola Negra
Suzannah Mirghani’s Cotton Queen
Rafael Manuel’s Filipiñana
Ashley Walters’ Animol
Lee Chang-dong’s Possible Love
Cristian Mungiu’s Fjord
Boots Riley’s I Love Boosters
Jennifer Peedom’s Tenzing
Paweł Pawlikowski’s Fatherland
Joel Crawford and Januel Mercado’s Forgotten Island
Amanda Kramer’s By Design
Andrey Zvyagintsev’s Minotaur
Beth de Araújo’s Josephine
More issues
About the Magazine
Little White Lies was established in 2005 as a bi-monthly print magazine committed to championing great movies and the talented people who make them. Combining cutting-edge design, illustration and journalism, we’ve been described as being “at the vanguard of the independent publishing movement.”
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