Six Shooter (2004)

Director:

Martin McDonagh

Writer:

Martin McDonagh (written by)

Release Date:

February 2005 (UK)

Genre:

Comedy | Short

Tagline:

A black and bloody Irish comedy

Plot:

A black and bloody Irish comedy about a sad train journey where an older man, whose wife has died that morning, encounters a strange and possibly psychotic young oddball....

Plot Keywords:

Train | Doctor | Photograph | Argument | Grief

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 5 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Brendan Gleeson	...	Donnelly
Rúaidhrí Conroy	...	Kid (as Ruaidhrí Conroy)
David Wilmot	...	Man
Aisling O'Sullivan	...	Woman
Gary Lydon	...	Chief Guard
Domhnall Gleeson	...	Cashier
David Murray	...	Doctor
Tadgh Conroy	...	Young Kid
David Pearse	...	Short Man
Ann McFarlane	...	Donnelly's Wife
John Wallace	...	Junior Garda
Richard Nisbet	...	Garda
Mick Horan	...	Kid's Dad

Runtime:

UK:27 min

Country:

UK | Ireland

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

UK:18 | USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

County Wicklow, Ireland

Company:

Missing in Action Films

Trivia:

The film was shot on a real train. The crew could shoot on it between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. after which it had to be cleaned for the evening commute.

Soundtrack:

St. James Infirmary Blues

An Engrossing but Macabre Portrait of Lots of Death in the Pretty Irish Countryside

"Six Shooter" is the debut written/directed film by playwright Martin McDonagh and now I want to see more of his work.

This film is suffused with death, human and animal; we see or hear about intentional deaths - murder and suicide--, natural deaths --by illness or mysterious causes, accidental deaths, and maybe a few I missed in passing.

Each character deals with death in a different way, from the psychotic to tearful grief to quiet suffering to violent reactions, and the actors portray each fully.

While Brendan Gleeson is the central widower trying to make sense of all these observations of death for his own coping mechanisms, the film is stolen by a motormouth Rúaidhrí Conroy as the most annoying guy to ever be on public transport. He non-stop goes from cheerful to entertaining to manipulative to scary and beyond.

While it does go a bit over the top, the cinematography and settings always ground it in grim reality, with a brief excursion into magic realism.

The Irish scenery outside the railway car windows does look very pretty, in contrast to what's going on inside.

I viewed this film as part of a commercial screening of Oscar nominated shorts.