Martin McDonagh always has a very clear point of view in his films, meaning his point of view about life is on display in his storytelling. We see his thoughts on life and how much pain we all suffer and endure, or not, during our time being alive and in community with one another. McDonagh's film hits on his ability to use juxtaposition to reveal life in a violent and also cathartic way. We see this in Dixon's scene where he throws Red out of the second story window. As we anticipate the violence (we watch Dixon walk across the street, break the glass in the door, climb the staircase and pull his gun out), we get a queasy feeling that something bad is about to happen. Mr. McDonagh couples this imagery with a song that seems completely opposite to what is being seen on-screen. What this does is gives the audience the ability to understand the characters in a way that is deeper than the violence, that it - like such impulses in us all - stems from a deeply embedded life that has happened to us.
This film has McDonagh's signature dark comic humor and moments for reflection as we are given a great deal of space and silence to reflect while watching the story unfold. This allows the audience to create, challenge, defend and even change their opinion about the subject of the film. This is a tragedy with levity that is created through characters played by Frances McDormand, Sam Rockwell, and Woody Harrelson, and the levity or humanity is all in the characters, a mode which McDonagh excels at as he writes all of his own material as well. This film will live on as a contemporary voice of our era.
