The narrator – the gateway into so many stories. From film noir and western, to coming of age. . . or a plethora of others, this is the voice that guides us through these movies. Sometimes we listen to a seemingly doomed main character like Fred MacMurray’s Walter Neff in Billy Wilder’s Double Indemnity, or an author reflecting back on his youth (Richard Dreyfuss in Stand By Me), perhaps it is a more obscure Stranger like Sam Elliot’s character in The Big Lebowski, or one of my favourites – The Grim Reaper (Gabriel Byrne) overlooking the sordid happenings in Perrier’s Bounty. In any case, they can lead and mislead, critique and reflect, observe and report, infer or be all knowing. . . a wonderful vehicle to drive a narrative to its conclusion.
One of the most unique premises I’ve seen in some time, editor Eric Kissack (Daddy’s Home; Veep; The Good Place) takes a turn directing the 2014 western short The Gunfighter (written by Kevin Tenglin), in what you would expect to be a pretty typical nine minute shoot `em up. . . yet it is anything but.
The Gunfighter (Shawn Parsons), new to town, does what any good nineteenth century western cowboy would do. . . find a local saloon and make his way to the bar for a drink. Yet, as he approaches the barman, the voice-over narration kicks in (Nick Offerman), not the voice of the above mentioned main character, yet also not the voice of anyone else found in the bar. Even more strangely, everyone in the establishment can hear this all-knowing narrator – perhaps he is even writing the script as he goes.
Like some sort of cosmic trickster, it is hard to tell exactly what is fact and what is fiction. . . the all-seeing presence tinkering and prodding. . . putting thoughts in people’s minds (out loud, that is) while revealing their deepest, darkest secrets (to great comedic effect). Inspired, in part, by Deadwood (as well as numerous classic westerns), it captures the iconic series’ edginess as well as its pizzazz for dialogue and the latter’s laconic saloon setting – that can turn into brutal violence (or, as the narrator puts it, a “ballet of death”) in the blink of an eyepatch covered peeper. Combined with this pitch-perfect script is sharp direction, capturing every reaction (sometimes with simple cuts, other times with visual panache), and a score that oozes the predicament from Paul Thomson (who did the music for the intriguing 2011 British fantasy horror mini-series The Fades).
With so many clever jokes and gags that are best experienced firsthand, this is about where I’ll leave it. Bonus: The Gunfighter is an easy find (look for it on Youtube). . . and will definitely appeal to fans of westerns, comedies, quirky cinema, or for those who simply love voice-overs. So, don’t ignore this narrator’s suggestive voice, check out a most entertaining short – you’ll see that there is no reason for me to cry wolf.