After a strong backlash to Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri combined with the restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic, filmmaker Martin McDonagh returned to his roots and his two male leads from In Bruges to make a largely open air drama with a small cast and few locations on the islands of Achill and Inishmore off the coast of Ireland. On Inishmore, Production Designer Mark Tildesley (No Time to Die, F1) had Pádraic’s small farmhouse built, while on Achill they transformed an old whaling cottage into Colm’s home, this included building a shell over the existing structure so they could eventually burn it down. Achill is also where the pub was built (on a parking lot). The location would serve as an actual bar during filming, including serving the locals, but because it was never permitted to be a permanent structure, they couldn’t dig it into the ground and had to weigh it down against the ocean winds. It also had to be taken down once filming was complete.
Director of Photography Ben Davis limited his equipment and crew since everything had to be transported over by a small ferry boat. On Inishmore, most Transportation was done by horse-drawn carts, driven by locals hired by the Transportation Department. Also, while Jenny the donkey was real – and had a calmer, more trainable double – for one key scene a Jenny puppet was designed by Tahra Zafar. After being trained in Henson’s Creature Shop, Zafar designed Hedwig and Scabbers for the Harry Potter films and is the genius who crafted the current stage version of Paddington.
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