Six Shooter (2004)

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....

Director:

Martin McDonagh

Writer:

Martin McDonagh

Stars:

Brendan Gleeson, Rúaidhrí Conroy, David Wilmot

Won 1 Oscar. Another 5 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited 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

Storyline

At the hospital, a doctor gives Donnelly the bad news: his wife of many years has died. He visits her body, placing a photograph of their pet rabbit on her hands. Then, in the early morning light, he leaves and catches a train back home toward Dublin. He sits across from a young talkative man who seems to have a loose screw, making coarse observations, starting an argument with a couple in the next seats who are clearly tense with each other. Over the next few miles, Donnelly learns that all four have lost someone that night, and, in a strange turn of events, the kid bequeaths to Donnelly a gift that may ease his pain. There's a strange bond in grief.

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Plot Keywords:

tragicomedy | grief | black comedy | sadness | train | 

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Taglines:

A black and bloody Irish comedy

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Genres:

Short | Comedy | Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

UK Ireland

Language:

English

Release Date:

February 2005 (UK)

Also Known As:

Six Shooter

Filming Locations:

County Wexford, Ireland

Box Office

Budget:

£125,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

FilmFour,Irish Film Board,Missing in Action Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

27 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Once described as 'Ken Loach meets Quentin Tarantino'.

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Quotes

Donnelly: Anyone sittin' here?
Kid: Oh aye, there's hundreds of fella's like... Look at them.

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Connections

Featured in 2005 Academy Award Nominated Short Films (2006)

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Soundtracks

St. James Infirmary Blues
Traditional, sometimes credited as written by Irving Mills (as Joe Primrose)
Published by EMI Music Publishing Ltd
Performed by The White Stripes
Usage courtesy of XL Recording/Beggars Banquet

User Reviews

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.