Colin Farrell in The Banshees of Inisherin: complaits received by the film classification office about 'accents' and 'portrayals of Irish people'. Photograph: 20th Century Studios/Jonathan Hessionthat he had spent time looking through the annual reports that the censor had dispatched to the minister for justice. “It gives voice to the office,” he said.
It has been a while since such divergences, which would have once seemed a monstrous aberration, generated any great surprise. The oblique reference is, nonetheless, welcome. Not only are films almost never refused a certificate, essentially banning the title, but, in 2023, a mere seven per cent were saddled with an 18.
All of which is tasty stuff for the dedicated nerd. The most interesting part of the report for the casual observer is the summary of complaints received. One might reasonably assume the postbag bulges with tirades from viewers who collapsed in the aisle during a torrid outbreak of heavy petting. This is not the case.