I see quite a few short films a year — mostly animated ones. However, it’s usually pointless to review them, because for a general audience they cannot be seen. Apple’s iTunes has changed this problem, making all the animated and live-action Oscar-nominated shorts available for download. This is how I was able to see SIX SHOOTER — the winner for best live-action short.
The morbidly dark comedy follows Donnelly (Brendan Gleeson, HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE), a middle-aged man whose wife has just passed away. Right from the start me know that the film has a twisted sense of humor when Donnelly places an unexpected picture in the hands of his departed wife. On the train home, he sits across from a young man (Ruaidhri Conroy, HART’S WAR), who has an offensively loud mouth and has no qualms saying the worst things in the world especially to a clearly distraught couple (David Wilmot, INTERMISSION, & Aisling O’Sullivan, THE BUTCHER BOY).
The short skewers mourning and how people deal with death in different ways. In 27 minutes, the film develops character richer than many features accomplish. Gleeson is the “star” in the film, but Conroy steals every moment he is on the screen. Director/writer Martin McDonagh is a playwright who makes an impressive film debut with this short. This style is straight-forward. He doesn’t try to be flashy, just letting the story unfold as it will. Most of all he has impeccable timing. Some of the most savage jokes wouldn’t work at all if the performances and timing weren’t exact. Thanks to iTunes everyone gets a chance to see these little gems.
P.S. — If you’re interested in seeing any of the Oscar-nominated animated shorts, I’d recommend 9 and ONE MAN BAND. Winner THE MOON AND THE SON and JASPER MORELLO are also good. BADGERED shouldn’t have been nominated, but its not bad.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
