Pallade Veneta - The Easter Island origins of buzzy Malkovich drama 'Wild Horse Nine'

The result is "Wild Horse Nine," a dark comic drama set against the backdrop of political and social tensions in Chile in 1973.

John Malkovich and Sam Rockwell, actors long known for their memorably ominous characters, are joined by Steve Buscemi to star in the film that's garnered standing ovations across the festival circuit, starting with its debut in Venice.

"Wild Horse Nine" follows two CIA colleagues grappling with personal circumstances that test their friendship, all while Chile lives out the final hours of Salvador Allende's government ahead of a US-backed military coup.

Buscemi plays the CIA chief in Santiago, while Chilean actor Mariana di Girolamo, Parker Posey and Tom Waits round out the cast.

And it's all set in the majestic, rugged landscapes of Easter Island.

There's the beauty and mystery of the enigmatic "moai" stone statues carved by the Rapa Nui people, but also the terrain, the greenery and the ocean, McDonagh said.

"All of those beautiful aspects of Rapa Nui were fundamental to it being a character in the story," the British-Irish director said during a press event at the Toronto Film Festival (TIFF).

The director nabbed an Oscar in 2006 for his short film "Six Shooters," and has earned six more Academy Award nominations for the films "In Bruges," "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri" and "The Banshees of Inisherin."

His latest film sees jaded agents Chris (Malkovich) and Lee (Rockwell) discuss life, regrets, love, politics and...cheese.

"It's very theatrical, the buddy movie, in a way," Rockwell said, describing the characters as an "odd couple."

The actor -- who recently made a star cameo on the series "The White Lotus" -- said that "even the way they fight, there's a love in the way they fight."

Malkovich agreed: "Their arguments are like a married couple."

- Layered characters -

Malkovich said audiences often respond well to shades of regret -- "things they wish they had said or done or could say and do."

"I think both these characters have a lot of those things."

The 72-year-old, who won an award at the Venice Film Festival for his performance, said he enjoys playing such roles because "you get a lot of facets of someone."

The duo in the film, for example, have no "problem with killing people."

"That is in no way a moral issue to them," Malkovich said. "Their moral issue is killing people while eating... That's how they view the world."

The personal drama of "Wild Horse Nine" unfolds during a turbulent chapter of Chilean history that intrigued McDonagh.

But the director did not want a didactic film.

"I love films that are entertaining," McDonagh said. "This has a lot of, you know, deep political context to it, too -- but I think you can do that."

"Sometimes it's easier to do that through a joke than through a diatribe."

R.Lagomarsino--PV