The film starts with a doctor breaking the news to a man that his wife has sadly died. The dark humour seeps through quickly as the doctor explains that he is rushed off his feet and mentions the other deaths from that night.
The rest of the film is set on a train. The man, a youth, and a sobbing couple are forced to interact when the gobby youth spews out constant bad language and comments in bad taste. His language and actions during the film have major consequences on the other three passengers, he will impact on them for the rest of their lives. He isn't afraid to strike up a conversation with anyone, his inane questions seem even more inane compared to what we learn of the experiences of the three others in the carriage. Despite all of this though, he appears friendly, just incredibly lacking in any social skills, perhaps a bit 'special'.
The train is a microcosm of human grief and we learn that all four of them have a lot more in common than we first realise. Martin McDonagh is brilliant at setting up characters in order for us to presume incorrectly about them. At first we believe the couple are a bit cold with each other because they've had an argument, but moments later we learn the agonising truth. Same with the young man, he appears yobbish, and then kind - we forgive his outbursts because we see him as harmless, but that view is later challenged.
Six Shooter goes on for just under half an hour yet it is still incredibly emotionally charged. The tension would perhaps be unbearable if it weren't for the dark humour. I laughed out loud at this, but you have to see it to get it, explaining the situations the passengers are in and what is so funny about it all would seem sick to some, but in the context of the film you can't help but laugh.
In a nutshell: A very neat story which is superbly acted and brilliantly written. This was recognised in various film awards and rightly so, I will be looking to watch his follow up full length feature '
In Bruges [DVD] [2008]'. Even in the darkest of times there can be humour for some and there happens to be more tragedy and laughs in this short than you get in many full length films, this is summed up perfectly in the very last line of the film.
