John Malkovich and Sam Rockwell Star in Black Comedy Wild Horse Nine
John Malkovich and Sam Rockwell star as CIA operatives in the black comedy “Wild Horse Nine,” which hit theaters on November 6, 2026, according to USA Today.
The film follows eccentric agent Chris Carlisle, played by Malkovich, and his loyal partner Lee Chesterfield, played by Rockwell, as they journey to Easter Island in 1973. While the plot centers around this trip, it serves as a vacation from their current assignment of destabilizing the Chilean government.
Written and directed by Oscar-winning writer/director Martin McDonagh, the R-rated film received three out of four stars from USA Today and incorporates real historical context, such as suspected CIA involvement in the 1973 military coup to overthrow Chile’s socialist president Salvador Allende, or Marxist president Salvador Allende to install a right-wing junta.
The story kicks off when an aging CIA man describes President Kennedy’s assassination as a success.
From there, Chris and Lee are in Chile to overthrow the government, which leads Chris to casually confess to two young liberal college students, Monica (Mariana di Girolamo) and Alicia (Ailin Salas), We came down here to destabilize your democracy and it is going great.
McDonagh’s narrative balances this political thriller backdrop with Chris’ mental and physical decline from cancer, alongside memory troubles and regret over various bloody assignments and assassinations.
Snippets of the plot are revealed through vague notes Chris writes to himself and audio-recorded memoirs to help preserve his memory, while Lee captures certain scenes on his Super 8mm camera.
Their uptight bureau chief, MJ, played by Steve Buscemi, grows nervous about Chris’s plan to write a memoir of his covert outings, especially if sensitive incidents become public. Meanwhile, Lee faces additional stress from calls by his cheating wife, Parker Posey, and deals with his morphine-addicted buddy’s rogue antics and a paranoid belief that someone is following him.
The film mixes distressing and taboo topics like cancer and assassinations with comedic treatment, anchored by the chemistry between Malkovich and Rockwell. Their early banter—such as wondering if Nazis or dinosaurs will go to heaven—cements their core relationship before things grow frayed. Malkovich delivers a performance that has put him back in the Oscar race, bringing depth and a wry sense of humor to a character who acts as an unreliable narrator.
Visually, the movie utilizes a solid color scheme of greens, oranges, and teals, contrasting with its intensity. Much of the movie remains quiet with little background music, relying instead on naturally shifting lighting and subtle details, like an ant crawling on Chris’ shoulder, to ground the film in reality.