As far as short films go, this is near the top of the list. McDonagh (formerly a playwright, here making his film debut) is a master craftsman, able to play several levels at the same time. "Six Shooter" is shocking, heartbreaking and very funny, often simultaneously. The story, in a nutshell, revolves around four people, each suffering a very recent death in their families. As they each deal with the loss in very different ways, they collide with each other, sometimes with words, sometimes with more.
The cast is uniformly excellent, especially Brendan Gleeson as the sad-eyed protagonist and Rúaidhrí Conroy as a ticking time-bomb of a kid. McDonagh's pitch-perfect writing - while not approaching the near-apocalyptic absurdity of plays like "The Lieutenant of Inishmore" - is appropriately bleak. His direction is also assured, showing him to be a filmmaker to watch in coming years.
"Six Shooter" is available on iTunes for two dollars. If you can, buy it. It's truly a great work of modern cinema.
The cast is uniformly excellent, especially Brendan Gleeson as the sad-eyed protagonist and Rúaidhrí Conroy as a ticking time-bomb of a kid. McDonagh's pitch-perfect writing - while not approaching the near-apocalyptic absurdity of plays like "The Lieutenant of Inishmore" - is appropriately bleak. His direction is also assured, showing him to be a filmmaker to watch in coming years.
"Six Shooter" is available on iTunes for two dollars. If you can, buy it. It's truly a great work of modern cinema.