Six Shooter Film Analysis
Who Knew Death Could Be This Entertaining?
Adam New
Six Shooter is a morbid yet amusing black comedy that exhibits some of the best filmmaking Ireland has to offer.
In real life, death is a very serious subject. Most people dread the day that they must shuffle off this mortal coil and stop existing altogether. As we grow older, we all are forced to come to grips with our own fragile mortality. However, comedians and humorists have found ways of looking at the concept of death in a more light-hearted manner. Black comedy and gallows humor are used in a lot of film, television, and other media to assuage audiences’ anxieties about dying. Motion pictures like Pulp Fiction, Horrible Bosses, and Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) …show more content…
Donnelly (Brendan Gleeson) boards a train shortly after learning that his wife has passed away. On the ride home, he meets a handful of people who also have recently been affected by death: an obnoxious young man whose mother was murdered (Rúaidhrí Conroy) and a grieving married couple who lost their infant son (David Wilmot and Aisling O’Sullivan). Six Shooter is a very well made film. The shots, editing, and lighting are brilliantly used, keeping the short interesting throughout. The cast is also superb, with Gleeson and Conroy giving especially good performances. The former conveys the emotions of a put-upon man who has lost everything, yet still trying to get by. Meanwhile, the latter succeeds at behaving like an inconsiderate child, but also likable and entertaining to the audience. If you can get past the thick Irish brogues, you can appreciate the acting on display in this short. Six Shooter is another great example of black comedy in film. The story uses death as a motif, with all the characters having lost someone in their lives very recently. However, McDonagh manages to use this theme as a vehicle for some witty commentary on life through Conroy’s character. Also, there is a dark twist at the end that I dare not spoil in this article. It is set up perfectly, and it wraps up the story arc quite nicely. If you are in the mood for a comedy that does not shy away from the bleaker parts of humanity, Six Shooter going to be right up your
Adam New
Six Shooter is a morbid yet amusing black comedy that exhibits some of the best filmmaking Ireland has to offer.
In real life, death is a very serious subject. Most people dread the day that they must shuffle off this mortal coil and stop existing altogether. As we grow older, we all are forced to come to grips with our own fragile mortality. However, comedians and humorists have found ways of looking at the concept of death in a more light-hearted manner. Black comedy and gallows humor are used in a lot of film, television, and other media to assuage audiences’ anxieties about dying. Motion pictures like Pulp Fiction, Horrible Bosses, and Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) …show more content…
Donnelly (Brendan Gleeson) boards a train shortly after learning that his wife has passed away. On the ride home, he meets a handful of people who also have recently been affected by death: an obnoxious young man whose mother was murdered (Rúaidhrí Conroy) and a grieving married couple who lost their infant son (David Wilmot and Aisling O’Sullivan). Six Shooter is a very well made film. The shots, editing, and lighting are brilliantly used, keeping the short interesting throughout. The cast is also superb, with Gleeson and Conroy giving especially good performances. The former conveys the emotions of a put-upon man who has lost everything, yet still trying to get by. Meanwhile, the latter succeeds at behaving like an inconsiderate child, but also likable and entertaining to the audience. If you can get past the thick Irish brogues, you can appreciate the acting on display in this short. Six Shooter is another great example of black comedy in film. The story uses death as a motif, with all the characters having lost someone in their lives very recently. However, McDonagh manages to use this theme as a vehicle for some witty commentary on life through Conroy’s character. Also, there is a dark twist at the end that I dare not spoil in this article. It is set up perfectly, and it wraps up the story arc quite nicely. If you are in the mood for a comedy that does not shy away from the bleaker parts of humanity, Six Shooter going to be right up your