Wild Horse Nine: John Malkovich Plays CIA Agent Who Says 'We Came Down Here to Destabilise' Chile

Martin McDonagh's dark comedy Wild Horse Nine has premiered at the 83rd Venice Film Festival, with John Malkovich playing a veteran CIA agent caught up in the events surrounding the 1973 military coup in Chile.

Malkovich and Sam Rockwell star as CIA operatives Chris and Lee, who are stationed in Santiago shortly before the overthrow of democratically elected president Salvador Allende. In one scene, Chris tells two Chilean students that he and Lee have come to 'destabilise your democracy', reflecting the film's fictionalised depiction of American covert intervention in the country.

The film follows the pair after they are sent from Santiago to Easter Island, where Chris begins confronting his past. His growing openness about CIA operations, work on a memoir and relationship with two students create problems for his superior, MJ, played by Steve Buscemi. Wild Horse Nine is competing for the Golden Lion.

The 1973 Chilean Coup Shapes the Story

The film is set against the September 1973 coup that removed Allende from power after a period of political and economic turmoil. US involvement in efforts to undermine Allende's government provides part of the historical basis for McDonagh's story.

McDonagh told Reuters that he had not been thinking about current events when writing the screenplay, but said the film had taken on new relevance as international political tensions have developed. He said the story examines guilt and regret surrounding American intervention overseas.

The director has also discussed the CIA's historical involvement in political interventions in countries including Chile, Guatemala and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Chris's personal reckoning forms the basis for the film's examination of the consequences of the fictional covert operations depicted in the story.

For Mariana di Girolamo, who plays a young Chilean university student in the film, the Chilean setting carries particular significance. Speaking to Reuters, she described the legacy of the coup as an 'open wound' for Chileans and said continuing to discuss the period remains important.

Malkovich Plays an Ageing CIA Operative

Chris is portrayed as an ageing and increasingly troubled operative whose health and behaviour contribute to his willingness to discuss his career. The film also reveals that he and Lee have been involved in covert operations beyond Chile, giving Chris's reflections a wider political context.

The story begins in Santiago shortly before the coup, before Chris and Lee are dispatched to Easter Island by MJ. There, Chris develops a friendship with two rebellious students, played by Chilean actresses di Girolamo and Ailín Salas.

Chris's memoir becomes another source of tension with MJ, while his increasingly candid conversations about his work threaten to expose information the agency would prefer to keep secret.

The film uses dark humour alongside its political subject matter. Time Out described Malkovich's performance as a standout, while reviews have highlighted his chemistry with Rockwell as the story moves between comedy, political satire and character drama.

Wild Horse Nine Heads To UK Cinemas

Wild Horse Nine is one of 21 films competing for the Golden Lion at this year's Venice Film Festival, which runs from 2 to 12 September.

The film is directed and written by McDonagh, whose previous films include In Bruges, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri and The Banshees of Inisherin. The cast also includes Buscemi, Parker Posey and Tom Waits alongside Malkovich, Rockwell, Di Girolamo and Salas.

Wild Horse Nine is scheduled for UK cinema release on 6 November 2026.