What qualifies as “a day from hell?” It is an ambiguous idiom that’s often applied in a liberal manner to a varying range of circumstances. Ordinarily, it’s an expression used after a stressful day at work, where the morning commute was plagued with delays and cancelations, subsequently making you late before being angrily summoned by your boss after they witness your unpunctual arrival. After the verbal hammering, you realize you’ve forgotten your lunch, and to make matters worse, a deadline you thought wasn’t for another week is, in fact, today.
Of course, it isn’t complete without those infuriating niggles where you stub your big toe, or catch one of the cord locks on your jacket on a door handle. In fact, as Charles Bukowski pointed out in his poemThe Shoelace, hell is often paved with little obstacles; as he writes, “It’s not the large things that send a man to the madhouse. Death he’s ready for, or murder, incest, robbery, fire, flood… no, it’s the continuing series of small tragedies that send a man to the madhouse.”
As one could probably imagine, the darkly comedic mind ofMartin McDonaghoffers an alternative view on the dreaded “day from hell," one which Bukowski may have gotten a kick out of. Grossly morbid, deeply profane, and utterly hilarious — it could be any one of his incredibly distinctive movies. 2004’sSix Shooterserved as McDonagh’s cinematic bridge and induction into film, taking the plunge from decorated playwright to filmmaking newcomer. Winning the Academy Award forBest Live Action Short, it proved quite the introduction for the cinematic prodigy, and it would have come as no surprise to those who have followed McDonagh’s career closely that he’s become a real success, creating masterful films such asIn Bruges, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri,andThe Banshees of Inisherin.
Six Shooter: A Day from Hell
McDonagh has a particular panache for capturing literality in its funniest, most uplifting form even when confronting topics of the utmost sensitivity. The humorless may view it as a flagrant disregard for what is sacred, but fromThe Banshees of InisherintoSeven Psychopaths, his films indiscriminately make light of the absurd and the taboo in hilarious ways. It’s no different inSix Shooter,set predominantly on a train in rural Ireland on the outskirts of Dublin, following the new widower Donnelly (played to perfection by Brendan Gleeson, a McDonagh regular).
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Despondent, devastated, and depressed after his wife’s death, Donnelly’s period of mourning begins as he hops on his train back to Dublin. Sat next to a grieving couple, and opposite a highly-spirited and facetious young man who seems to thrive off a mocking sense of schadenfreude, Donnelly’s day goes from tragedy to travesty in a fateful 20-minute train journey with the gobby youngster, played so dauntlessly by one of McDonagh’s former theatrical collaborators, Rúaidhrí Conroy. In nearlyall McDonagh’s feature films, we are never too far away from finger mutilation, or a head being blown clean off. Yet, like inThe Banshees of Inisherin,In Bruges, andSeven Psychopaths, for all the blood, police shoot-outs, headless rabbits, and horrific gore ofSix Shooter, it still miraculously manages to spare us from the shock factor, electing to make us laugh in even the most outrageous instances.
McDonagh Spares Nothing and No One in Six Shooter
As is very often the case with short films, directors will utilize them as a vehicle to exhibit their capacity as a filmmaker, employing relatively inconsequential plots as a means to hone in on method and style, rather than narrative development. While of course, short films vary dramatically in length, and it is perhaps a little unjust to compare the narrative weight of a 5-minute sequence with a 40-minute one, it comes as no surprise (with the benefit of retrospect) that McDonagh’s 25-minute short is as full-bodied and vivacious as a full-length feature film. His masterful aptitude for storytelling is on full display throughout the film’s runtime.
The British-Irish director remarkably manages to tell a velvety-rich, profuse, and punchy tale that perfectly balances the mightily uproarious with the profoundly poignant. The quick-paced and on-the-nose dialogue that has become such an unmistakable rhetorical device associated with a McDonagh flick isn’t lost in favor of the action scenes, and is instead combined skillfully to create a unique, dark action comedy.
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Although short films are in their very nature, concise,Six Shooterseems to defy the time constraints of its mere 25 minutes by not only including brilliantly fanciful oratory, dramatic action set pieces, and an immensely satisfying conclusion, but it also delivers the execution of character development. There is almost an immediate affinity with Donnelly; his soft expression, and defeated demeanor has that highly sought-after power of a kind of empathetic familiarity. The audience develops a relatively comprehensive understanding of both the protagonists that inhabit our screen in a limited frame and an even more restricted setting. For all that occurs in this short debut, it never feels as though too much is crammed in or forced within its boundaries.
Tremendous Performances from its Central Characters
Brendan Gleeson possesses a naturally disarming, soft-hearted, and tender presence as a heartbroken man. His comedic timing is subtly understated and lends itself to this sort of no-hold’s-barred humor. However, it’s in the form of the newcomer, Rúaidhrí Conroy, that the most memorable performance is given. The young Irishman is simply tremendous in the role of the nameless boy; his charisma and colorful aura light up the screen, creating an effortless source of light on a canvas that is essentially bleak. Unfortunately, Conroy hasn’t been given many opportunities since the short film, but his presence encapsulates McDonagh at his best — energetic, profane, funny, disturbing, and always unexpected.
