Martin McDonagh Ranked

Although it is just plain fun to rank a director's movies, it may also help me think about the director's oeuvre of work as a whole. Comparisons can help me to discover elements of film that I am drawn to, what the director finds value in revealing through their movies and possibly how the director has grown artistically.

One of the most memorable aspects of all of McDonagh's films is their humor. It can be dark, irreverent, and frankly juvenile. This is because some of his characters can be rather simple and juvenile themselves and not find value in the sophistication and respect others may have for life and the others around them.

McDonagh also often creates narratives where relationships…

McDonagh also often creates narratives where relationships exist between two or more characters who have different values and lifestyle, which create interesting conflict and results in more comedy as well. Although this conflict is expressed through some dumb and harmless ways, they also reveal some deep and stark differences in the values his characters hold dear to themselves.

All of this conflict also helps reveal the complex moralities each individual has. Many of his characters make firm decisions, often with huge public gestures, that impact their relationships with others and force others to reckon with guilt and/or evaluate their own lives and values, sometimes including what in life is worth sacrificing for a higher ideal.

On top of it all, McDonagh is always interested in showing how even the most seemingly simple-minded, crass, and even downright evil characters have deep feelings, incredible love in their hearts, and kindness toward their family and friends. Each individual it complex and internally deals with how life should be lived and what their own lives mean in relation to others and the circumstances of the story.

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List by Adam Graff Patron

Martin McDonagh Ranked