Director
Martin McDonagh
Leading Actors/Actresses
Brendan Gleeson
Supporting Actors/Actresses
Ruaidhri Conroy, Domhnall Gleeson
Genre
Drama/Dark Comedy
Language
English
Awards
2006 Academy Award for Best Short Film, Live Action
Date of Release
2004
Producer
Kenton Allen, Mia Bays
Setting and Context
A train in Ireland
Narrator and Point of View
POV is that of Donnelly
Tone and Mood
Dark, Comedic, Dramatic, Violent
Protagonist and Antagonist
Protagonist is Donnelly; Antagonist is the Kid.
Major Conflict
Donnelly has lost his wife and as he travels home he has to manage a hot-headed Kid who is antagonizing a grieving couple.
Climax
The Kid turns out as having killed his mother the night before and dies in a shoot out with the cops. Donnelly takes one of his pistols and tries to kill himself, an attempt which he botches.
Foreshadowing
The doctor speaking about two infant deaths and a woman with her head blown off foreshadows the showdown with the Kid and the couple who lost their son.
Understatement
It's understated that the Kid murdered his mother.
Innovations in Filming or Lighting or Camera Techniques
N/A
Allusions
The film is an allusion to death, that in one shape form or another it is all of our final destinations.
Paradox
Donnelly plans to kill himself, but first he shoots the rabbit. Paradoxically, the gun slips from his hands and fires the last bullet, leaving Donnelly with his dead rabbit in his arms.
Parallelism
The picture of the rabbit parallels picture of the baby as it is the only "child" of each family.
