Black humor and the absurd are central elements of Martin McDonagh’s cinema. He uses them as tools to explore the moral complexity of his characters and, more generally, of the society in which they live. Through these three films: In Bruges, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, and The Banshees of Inisherin, we will examine to what extent McDonagh denounces social dysfunctions through acerbic humor.
In In Bruges, released in 2008, black humor is omnipresent and highlights the moral conflict of Ray, a hitman consumed by guilt over having mistakenly killed a child. He is sent to Bruges to await his next order with his partner Ken. This picturesque and quiet little town gradually takes on the appearance of a purgatory, with ever-increasing psychological tension. This contrast highlights the dramatic aspect while highlighting the absurdity of the codes of the criminal underworld. SPOILER ALERT. The scene where Harry, played by Ralph Fiennes, commits suicide while respecting a self-imposed principle is the most striking example: tragic irony highlights the inconsistency of his own values.
In Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, dark humor serves to denounce failing institutions and social hypocrisy. Mildred Hayes, played by Frances McDormand, embodies this cold anger, where her calm, determination, and disregard for boundaries highlight the limitations of institutions like the police and play on the boundaries of morality when one is in the position of victim. Far from mitigating the violence of the subject, this acid humor amplifies the criticism and reflects the prevailing cynicism. The ability to significantly evolve her characters through unpredictable actions thus allows her to nuance her characters and play with the viewer’s expectations.
Finally, in The Banshees of Inisherin, the dark humor takes on a more existential dimension. The breakup between Pádraic and Colm, two longtime friends, which initially seems trivial, turns into an absurd escalation of suffering and self-destruction. One simply no longer wants to be friends with the other, and we witness a friendship split mirroring a romantic breakup. The exaggeration of the situations, particularly Colm’s self-mutilation, highlights the irrationality of human conflict and allows us to question friendship from a new perspective. This absurdity resonates with the film’s underlying historical context, which alludes to the Irish Civil War, where brothers in arms clashed for no clear reason.
McDonagh’s dark humor isn’t simply intended to provoke a laugh, but serves as a prism to explore moral dilemmas and expose the contradictions of human nature from an unexpected angle. It allows for maintaining a critical distance from the brutality of events while reinforcing their impact. By playing on the contrast between the comic and the tragic, McDonagh highlights the absurdity of violence and the complexity of human feelings, thus making his cinema profoundly subversive, funny, and humanist.
Théophile MILLAT
