The latter three were all based off of historical events, and all dramatic, lacking humor, and avoiding the label of "genre film." Nominees in the Best Picture category included that year's upset favorite, Brokeback Mountain, Capote, Good Night and Good Luck, and Munich. It isn't that McDonagh's style on display here couldn't be done as a feature (hence In Bruges.) But take 2005's Best Picture winner, the painfully preachy melodrama Crash.
#SIX SHOOTER OKMAP OF SIX SHOOTER OKLA MOVIE#
What I find fascinating is that this movie would go onto earn an Oscar for Best Live Action Short Film, yet if its style were taken and transposed onto a feature, it's unlikely to have even earned a nomination for Best Picture. The film functions with a true dramatist's magic, infused with the dark absurdity that is trademark McDonagh an Irish playwright behind works such as The Lieutenant of Inishmore and The Pillowman, and would go onto write and direct 2008's In Bruges. There he runs into a delinquent without a filter and a couple grieving the loss of their child, and Donnelly faces a sardonically funny conflict that turns tragic. "Six Shooter" stars Brendan Gleason as Donnelly, a grieving widower returning home on a train from the hospital after his wife has passed away. However, in following with this week's theme of award winning shorts, I'd instead like to focus on how unorthodox styles within the shorts category seem to have greater success during award season. Joyce's previous posting on "Six Shooter," you will find a wonderful summary and critique on the film's theme of death, which she eloquently and accurately tackles. Previously Covered on The Short Films Blog by Ashley Joyce (Post Found Here) Written and Directed by Martin McDonagh, Ireland, 2005, 27 MinutesĢ005 Academy Award Winner-Best Live Action Short Film