The ideology of `outside` characters are depicted by directors such as John Ford and Lenny Abrahamson in Irish cinema. The Quiet Man and Garage are symbolic for illustrating this idea. Ford and Abrahamson utilise their `outside` characters as a backdrop to the Irish landscape which symbolises the character`s connection to nature as well as placing them outside the diegetic world. By depicting them in this capacity, it enables the audience to develop a rapport with the characters as well as establishing their heroic status`. In particular, Ford achieves this through the use of long shots of the landscape combined with close ups of the character. An example of this is offered when Sean Thornton (John Wayne) and Mary-Kate Danaher (Maureen O` Hara) exchange gazes for the first time. In a similar way, Abrahamson introduces us to Josie (Pat Shortt) by combining a wide angle shot of the bleak landscape with a close up of our central protagonist.
Sean Thornton is presented as an outsider from the beginning of the narrative. As he arrives into Innisfree by train, he generates local intrigue. As outsider, Sean Thornton`s position is problematised and underscored for us when we are told that, unlike other visitors `He didn’t have the look of a tourist about him`, and that he didn’t have a camera: marking his being one step closer to entering the represented (symbolic) world of Innisfree (Monahan, 130). However, as the narrative gains momentum, we begin to understand this `outsider` better through other characters. For instance, Michaeleen Oge Flynn conveys that he is “a quiet peace loving man come home to Ireland to forget his troubles”. It is through Rev. Playfair that we learn what these “troubles” are. Subsequently, it is through Mary Kate that Sean is accepted into the community and ultimately becomes part of the story world, leading him to resign his `outside` status once and for all.
Conversely, Josie is an `outside` character for different reasons in Garage. Unlike Sean who eventually obtains acceptance and respect; Josie is relentlessly censured due to his simple minded nature. Furthermore, his social awkwardness is demonstrated through his repetition of the word `now`. The proliferation of meaningless interjections and the repetition of words and phrases draw attention to, rather than fill, uncomfortable silences (Monahan, 2007). Moreover, a deeper side to Josie`s character is illustrated through his relationship with David. Through this friendship, Josie is eventually pushed outside of society and will never return. This is epitomised once Josie is arrested for supplying David, a minor, with alcohol and showing him a pornographic film. Although this is a serious offence, the audience is on Josie`s side as we are aware the he doesn’t understand boundaries. As Josie anxiously waits for Mike (the Guard) to return, his doomed existence is emphasised by seeing bars on the window. This is a poignant moment representing Josie`s entrapment which is aligned to the final shot of Josie walking into the lake that serves as a raw emotional moment.
Works Cited:
Garage. Dir. Lenny Abrahamson. IFI: 2007. Film
The Quiet Man. Dir. John Ford. Republic Pictures: 1952. Film.
Monahan, Barry. “Lenny Abrahamson`s Garage (2007): A Drama of Cinematic Silence”. Estuidios Irlandeses. 2007. Print
Monahan, Barry, “Narrative Pleasures of the Visualised Nation: The Quiet Man and Disruptive Systems of Viewing”. The Quiet Man and Beyond. Dublin: The Liffey Press, 2009. Print.
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