The London-born playwright of Irish parents,Martin McDonagh,returns to the land of his fathers for his movie debut,and shows considerable promise and talent as a filmmaker.The film has an excellent performance from the well-known Brendan Gleeson and an even better one from the relatively unknown Ruaiduri Conroy as the main protagonists.As with all black comedy,it is mainly about the subject of death and it's various causes and impacts it has on various individuals.The potential poor taste the story offers is easily offset by fine photography,a witty script,convincing characterisation and well executed plot twists.The foul language could be too much for some,but it is to be hoped that on this showing at least,McDonagh will concentrate on film-making in the future equally as much as his theatre work.

This is one of admittedly few short films that I have seen. I purchased this through the iTunes music store, and I must say, it was very worth the $1.99. This is a story of a man whose wife died, and gets on a train and sits down next to one of the few people on the train. It is a very simple storyline, yet the developments that result make this film truly an excellent piece of film (hence the Oscar). Personally, I would consider this to be a comedy, but it is of the dark and twisted variety. Anyone who wants a moving, yet humorous short film should most certainly find a way to watch this. Highly recommended due to the artful combination of humor and true content, while still providing an appealing and interesting story.

A bereaved number of individuals take a train ride and come across a glib sociopath and sullen cashier. What should have been an ordinary ride turns into an unforseen crash of fate where no one really gets out alive. Ace direction and a biting realistic script elevate this to one of the best shorts and very much worthy of the award it deservedly won. Every film lover should see this - once seen never forgotten.

I just found this flicking through channels and it turned out to be pretty good. seeing Brendan Gleeson kept my attention for the first few minutes, but the story is pretty shocking stuff. I liked the camera-work on the train which, despite it being filmed on a small Irish train carriage) doesn't make it feel cramped. The boys character in it is great. Even though i like Gleeson, it's Ruadhri Conroy's character that kept me watching more than anyone else. It manages to pack in a fair few unexpected turns into its half hour length, and some of it made me surprised it was aired at all. The only other guy i recognized (of the cast of about 5) was David Wilmot from intermission. Anyway for a debut this is very good and it's worth seeing. Hopefully he'll be doing something else soon

They showed this on RTE television recently and I watched out of curiosity, it turned out to be much better than expected... Fantastic acting, superb casting and a fabulously brilliant and disturbing story. It's great to see the quality of Irish short films returning to something worthy of an Oscar nomination compared to some of the nonsense perpetrated throughout the past couple of years. Martin Mc Donagh is a quality playwright and this first foray into the world of movie making is a wonderful success to say the least. It's also fantastic to see the raw talent of Ruaidhri Conroy back on screen and with none other than Brendan Gleeson, the master! It's entirely deserving of it's Oscar nomination, fingers crossed for the lads. Thoroughly recommended!!!!

McDonagh is a brilliant story teller and fully deserves his Tony nominations and his Olivier Award for Best Play (The Pillowman). His critics have questioned his use of casual cruelty as a dramatic device, although he always grounds violence in a social context or connects sadism to particular characters' proclivities. This film is beautifully acted by Brendon Gleeson and especially Rúaidhrí Conroy, sharply photographed, and well directed by McDonagh himself. For technique alone it is Oscar-worthy. But the whole piece strikes me as an absurdist joke with insufficient resonance. This is a mélange of destructions, an indulgence in violence that reduces and parodies McDonagh's better scripts.