Your appreciation of SIX SHOOTER, a 30 minute Irish short by IN BRUGES director Martin McDonagh, largely depends on your tolerance for black comedy. I thought myself a fan of it, but after some of the subject matter played for laughs here - including cot death - I'm not so sure. Much of the material left me cold.
Looks-wise, it's certainly a professional production, pitched just right and utilising a moving train carriage as an effective backdrop to the ongoing events. Brendan Gleeson is as good as ever he's been playing Donnelly, a grieving husband encountering some decidedly odd situations on board what should be an uneventful train journey. Unfortunately, much of the film revolves around Ruaidhri Conroy's ne'er-do-well Kid, and I found him so unpleasant and repulsive that much of my enjoyment was taken away as a result.
Still, the acting is strong all around, the use of stark violence is effective and despite everything this feature comes away with a broad dash of Irish charm which works in its favour.
Looks-wise, it's certainly a professional production, pitched just right and utilising a moving train carriage as an effective backdrop to the ongoing events. Brendan Gleeson is as good as ever he's been playing Donnelly, a grieving husband encountering some decidedly odd situations on board what should be an uneventful train journey. Unfortunately, much of the film revolves around Ruaidhri Conroy's ne'er-do-well Kid, and I found him so unpleasant and repulsive that much of my enjoyment was taken away as a result.
Still, the acting is strong all around, the use of stark violence is effective and despite everything this feature comes away with a broad dash of Irish charm which works in its favour.