The Theatre and Films of Martin McDonagh (Critical Companions) by Patrick Lonergan

Author:Patrick Lonergan
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: BLOOMSBURY PUBLISHING
Published: 2014-03-19T16:00:00+00:00

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THE FILMS

Martin McDonagh as filmmaker

In his first press interviews McDonagh seemed to speak more often about cinema than theatre. He rarely acknowledged being influenced by other playwrights – occasionally mentioning Pinter and Mamet, and referring directly to Joe Orton as a major presence in The Lieutenant of Inishmore, but otherwise avoiding detailed reference to most other dramatists. But he spoke constantly about filmmakers who had inspired him: Martin Scorsese, Terrence Malick, Sam Peckinpah and many others. It therefore always seemed likely that McDonagh would make a movie.

It took him almost a decade to do so, however. His twenty-eight minute short Six Shooter was completed in 2004 and released the following year (nine years after Beauty Queen had premiered); and his first full-length feature In Bruges followed in 2008. As had happened with his playwriting career, he then experienced an amazing and unprecedented series of successes, winning one Academy Award for Six Shooter and being nominated for another for In Bruges, which also earned Colin Farrell a Golden Globe for Best Actor. McDonagh was understandably very proud of his Oscar, but realised he still had much to learn about filmmaking. ‘That was just luck,’ he told the New York Times when asked about the award.

That statement might seem like an example of (possibly false) modesty, but in fact McDonagh has spoken often of his belief that he didn’t do as good a job with Six Shooter as he might have done. ‘I didn’t take control over many of the aspects of filmmaking,’ he told Ed Caesar:

I didn’t get involved with the director of photography, or the costume designers, or the production people … All of those things I really needed to do. If your name is on it as the writer/director, you need to make sure it’s your statement. So I didn’t learn as much as I should have done. (2008)

These comments should not be interpreted as a dismissal of the film: ‘There’s lots about it I like, and I think the Oscar makes me like it even more,’ he stated. That said, even Brendan Gleeson acknowledged that McDonagh didn’t know much about filmmaking when he shot Six Shooter. ‘He’s such a genius he won an Oscar without having a clue!’ the delighted actor told the New York Times.

McDonagh has explained that the experience of Six Shooter made him nervous about the prospect of a full-length film. Perhaps in response to that fear, he drew on his theatre experience, deciding to spend three weeks working through the script with Farrell and Gleeson before shooting began. ‘That felt more like what I was used to,’ said McDonagh, ‘analysing a script, people talking about character and getting at the truth of something’ (Caesar, 2008).

Yet if the film required McDonagh to draw on his experiences in the rehearsal room, it also marks a distinct departure from his plays. As we have seen, the Leenane and Aran Islands of his plays bear little resemblance to the real places of the same name; his Kamenice could

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