``The Death of Dick Long” What is your intention in daring to depict comedy in a literary manner?

Serious subject matter and strange humor

As the title of the film suggests, Dick dies despite the treatment, and the local police begin an investigation. This is an unfortunate development for Dick's friends Zeke and Earl. Incidentally, the dead Dick is played by director Daniel Scheinert himself. The role was offered to famous people such as Channing Tatum and Justin Timberlake, but they all declined, so the director finally decided to play it himself.

The next morning, Zeke puts his young daughter in his car and discovers that the blood that spilled on the seat when he transported Dick the night before is now all over her back. In the film, he frantically tries to cover it up so no one can see it. He also struggles to hide the blood-stained car by sinking it in the water. It's just like a scene from Hitchcock's suspense film Psycho (1960).

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Afterwards, when his wife asks him, "What happened to the car?" Zeke gives a dumb excuse that it was stolen. Naturally, his wife presses him, "Then why didn't you call the police?!" but Zeke just keeps giving vague answers. It's a humorous scene for the audience who know the situation.

Yes, although the film may seem serious at first glance, it is actually a comedy about thoughtless men running around trying to avoid exposing their cover-up in the laid-back Southern setting.

The reason why this is not immediately obvious is that the film deals with the serious subject of "death," and that it is shot with an unusually literary atmosphere and direction. In other words, while this film is supposed to be a comedy, it is portrayed in a way that ignores common formulas. So why does this film choose such an awkward balance? The answer is related to the core of this film, so I would like to carefully explain it later.

There is a work that is structurally very similar to this one. That is " Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, Missouri" (2017), directed and written by Martin McDonagh. As exemplified by " Seven Psychopaths " (2012), McDonagh is known for his cynical sense of humor and intellectual, complex structure, which are unique to British writers.

"Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri" depicts a very painful and serious incident in which a female student is raped and murdered, and then depicts the new incident that derives from that incident in a literary and calm manner. This work is also serious in its direction and subject matter, but there is certainly a contradictory humor throughout.

In this way, McDonagh intentionally combines comedy with non-comedic tropes to create something that transcends genres. This is similar to the strange direction of the Coen brothers' films Miller's Crossing (1990) and No Country for Old Men (2007), which also transcend suspense and comedy. These techniques that bring about a sense of strangeness and wonder deprive us, the audience, of a simple way to enjoy a film by not giving us a reassuring guidepost, but instead provide a fresh, unpredictable experience.

Continuing authorship from “Swiss Army Man”