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Three and out

Is there any comedy in dying under a train?

THREE AND OUT
Director: Jonathan Gershfield
Cert: 15
(Warning: contains strong language, sex and suicide references.)

Is there any comedy in dying under a train? That was the somewhat disarming question put to the actor, Mackenzie Crook, when he arrived for the premiere of his new film, Three and Out, in April. It was asked by one of a number of tube train drivers, picketing the premiere in protest at what they regard as the film’s insensitive handling of suicide on the London Underground.

Quite apart from this particular film, the picketing driver’s question raises the broader issue of whether everything is fair game for comedic interpretation, or whether there are certain things that should remain off-limits.

We must surely acknowledge that context is crucial. If we know we’re reading poetry or apocalyptic literature in the Bible, we know to be cautious of a ‘literal’ interpretation. So, if we know we’re watching a comedy, shouldn’t that knowledge influence our expectations and interpretations?

We must also recognise that serious situations are lampooned within the pages of Scripture. Idolatry is no laughing matter, but both Elijah and Isaiah satirise its adherents (1 Kings 18, Isaiah 44). And Jesus himself was willing to give his teaching on judging others a comic take (Matthew 7:1-6). The comedy in these cases occurs when faithful individuals prophetically declare how things look through God’s eyes, exposing the utter ineptitude of fallen humanity.

All the same, accepting the doctrine of the Fall means accepting that our sense of humour is, along with all creation, in need of renewal. And doesn’t that mean it’s possible that we might be laughing at things God never intended for us to find funny? And we must contend with the power of comedy to shape us, for better or worse. Three and Out might well be a very funny film, but what if its success in making us laugh results in our being unable to engage with real life events similar to those it portrays in anything other than a light-hearted manner? We must reckon with the potential for comedy to be as capable of dehumanising us as it is of awakening us to divine perspectives.

It’s also worth noting that within Scripture laughter is very often bound up with joy — the profound joy of knowing and being known by God (Psalm 126). Might our increasing reliance on comedy entertainment to make us laugh be a stark betrayal of just how bereft our society is of the deep, divine joy from which laughter springs spontaneously?

Nigel Hopper

This review is used courtesy of The London Institute for Contemporary Christianity — http://www.licc.org.uk.