The Hilariously Twisted Mind of Martin McDonagh
It starts with a one-handed man with a cigarette and a gunshot. To be perfectly honest, to say that the play “A Behanding in Spokane” starts off with a figurative bang is somewhat of an overstatement. While it does start with a gunshot, the play aims more for the subtlety of dialogue and human interactions.
The play marks playwright Martin McDonagh’s return to theater after spending the past few years focusing on films. In 2006, McDonagh released his first film attempt, a short film called “Six Shooter.” To watch the brilliant film in it’s entirety, go here. It was well received and won an Oscar for Best Short Film. It’s a great little piece about a man in morning of his wife and a few people that he meets on the train back home. “Six Shooter” treads the thin line between dark and comedic and manages to avoid the pitfalls of both. From the three products of McDonagh that I have seen all manage to do just that. They’re all heavy in dialogue and contain very human characters. Almost every time, the audience witnesses people that say horrific things show they’re good side and/or watch the “better” characters commit less than nice deeds.
Two years later, McDonagh followed up with the film In Bruges, which stars Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson (who starred in “Six Shooter” as well) as two hit men who are hiding out in Bruges. Ray (Farrell) is bored out of his mind in the city while Ken (Gleeson) is having the time of his life. Hilarity ensues. There’s actually a lot more depth and humanity to the movie and it was one of my favorite films of 2008. The trailer only shows a little of the amazingness in the movie. I guess that’s why it’s a trailer and not the movie itself. I digress.
Getting back on topic: “A Behanding in Spokane” features an amazing cast that includes Christopher Walken (that dude who has a fever for more cowbell), Sam Rockwell (that other dude that’s been in all of those other movies), and Anthony Mackie (the black dude from The Hurt Locker). It tells the story of Carmichael (Walken), a man who brutally lost his hand as a young man and has since dedicated his life to getting it back. Years and years of searching has led him to a small hotel room with what he believes to be the final lead to his own hand. Wrapped up in the story become Toby (Mackie) and Marilyn (played by Zoe Kazan who is no stranger to Broadway; she already has two other shows in her belt at the young age of 26), a drug dealing couple who try to sell back Carmichael his hand. Attracted by loud noise taking place in his hotel, the curious and rambling hotel clerk, Mervyn (Rockwell), pokes his head in and finds himself sucked into the situation as well.
At risk of giving away too much of the story, the play features a can of gasoline and a burning candle, a suitcase full of hands, and a racist and injury-prone mother. Like I previously mentioned, it’s darkly comedic (a phrase you’ll here a lot with anything from Martin McDonagh) and strongly driven by the, at times, ranting dialogue of and strong performances by the four actors. Walken controls the stage with his wonderfully odd line readings and a dangerous undercurrent in his actions. While it is hard at times for his supporting actors to keep up with his eccentricity, they still hold their own. To put it simply, the play’s fun. As an audience member, all you have to do is go in, sit down, and enjoy. It can be easy to overthink it because it’s Broadway, but it’s a Broadway play about a man that’s trying to find his long lost hand. As a wise man once said: “Just enjoy.”
Tags: a behanding in spokane, anthony mackie, brendan gleeson, broadway, christopher walken, colin farrell, in bruges, martin mcdonagh, play, sam rockwell, six shooter, zoe kazan
You can comment below, or link to this permanent URL from your own site.
