He Was a Quiet Man (2007)

HE WAS A QUIET MAN echoes the all too familiar news item of irrational killings in public places here, in this country, by seemingly 'normal indistinguishable people'. Writer/director Frank A. Cappello has a good grasp on his subject matter and probably intended the rather slow movement of the film to underline the 'ordinary' situations that in a flash become extraordinary. And he has a fine cast to demonstrate his thoughts.

Bob Maconel (Christian Slater in fine distorting makeup) is a nerd, an ordinary geek who checks numbers form his sterile cubicle in a massive corporation, heckled by the 'fast guys' like Scott Harper (Jamison Jones). He loathes his life, his crumby house and unkempt lawn, and most of all the loathes the people with whom he works except for one Vanessa (Elisha Cuthbert) who has a 'smile that lights up a room', but pays no attention to the geeky Bob. Bob is deranged, talks to his goldfish at home (and they answer back!), and plans to kill the most offensive of his fellow workers. But in the adjacent cubicle there is a like mind who beats him to the show and one morning opens fire killing five people and wounding Vanessa with a bullet to her spine that leaves her paralyzed: Bob serendipitously uses his own gun to kill the assailant and becomes a hero for the corporation.

Though Bob is unchanged in appearance or outlook he is elevated to VP of Creative Thinking under the head boss Gene Shelby (William H. Macy). He visits Vanessa in the hospital, suffers her tantrum at being a quadriplegic, but finally is called back to her bedside and sweet-talked into being her hero life-saving guardian and more. Once Bob feels needed and perhaps 'loved' by Vanessa he begins to change, only to have unfortunate reminders of reality enter and alter his life yet again.

Though the subject matter is rather terrifying, Cappello elects to present this tale as black humor. In the hands of less competent actors it would like have been a dud, but with Christian Slater's finely nuanced performance the film takes on a powerful sheen. The line between madness and normalcy is a thin one indeed and there are many disturbing lessons to be gained from watching this small but well-done film. Grady Harp, February 08

Count me as one of those that really admire (most) of this film.

My disappointments: I don't like the fire hose volume of profanity and don't believe it represents real life as much as those justifying it want to pretend it does. And there is one rather disturbing sex scene that could have been handled differently to make the same point. These kinds of scenes aren't "real" and certainly can't compete with movies made to arouse. So, why have them?

Christian Slater is terrific as the deeply disturbed Bob Maconel. He is a cipher and used as an office whipping boy by a couple of low-level low-quality bullies passing for managers. Like many office drones, he dreams about a woman at the office. His dreamgirl is named Vanessa who notices the ceramic bobble hula girl he keeps on his cubicle, but she is too absorbed in her blazing rocket of a career to even pay attention to real people in anything but a passing manner. But she has a smile that lights up a room, as the movie keeps noting.

Bob takes his lunch on a spot where he has a view of the company skyscraper and has a little plastic box with a button so he can fantasize blowing the building to kingdom come. More disturbingly, he has a real gun with real bullets that he ritualistically loads by naming who each bullet is for. But he hasn't been able to bring himself to pull the trigger. During one performance of his rite he drops a bullet and while he is on the floor a gun is fired and people start dropping while others scream. An old man has carried out Bob's fantasy and they strike up a conversation that ends up with Bob emptying his gun in the old man.

The rest of the movie teases out how Bob is treated as a hero, is promoted, and his connection with Vanessa who was made a quadriplegic in the shooting (the shooter thought she was someone else). So, Bob has this secret that others approach but no one will really confront. Even the company shrink appears only to be be circling the core issues.

William H. Macy plays the CEO, Gene Shelby. Vanessa was an up and coming VP who reported directly to him and their relationship combined the very personal with the professional. Gene isn't really a bad guy, but just a ordinarily flawed guy running a company. Others project their own fantasies and frustrations onto him and that is a quite realistic aspect of the film. One funny aspect of the film is that Gene's desk is made up of multiple tables that are, together, somewhat larger than Rhode Island.

The way the movie is filmed handles the madness and melting realities very well. I had not seen these kinds of visual symbols before and thought they were quite effective.

Why some call this a comedy or a black comedy is beyond me. Yes, there are some comic moments, but the overall intent of the movie is serious. True, Bob carries on mutual conversations with his goldfish, but what do you expect such an isolated man who has drifted into madness to do?

I think this is a very effective movie and recommend it for the right audience (keeping my caveats in mind). For me, it was a Christian Slater tour-de-force.

Reviewed by Craig Matteson, Ann Arbor, MI

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Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program This movie wasn't bad for a Slater film. "He Was A Quiet Man" (the title refers to those comments by neighbours, after they discover that kindly Mr Jones at number 23 was actually an axe murderer) is the role of a lifetime for Christian Slater, who almost disappears into his character. It's hard to believe that this watery-eyed dork is Clarence from True Romance. Bob is quite possibly the most ineffectual man you could wish to meet he just lacks a cruel mother to make the picture complete.

And yet Bob actually isn't, in the world of the film, any worse that the dreadful people who surround him. It's an excoriating portrait of corporate culture; happy hour at the bar over the road, a few rounds at the driving range at the weekend, pointless, demeaning work. The film is no gentler on the treatment of the disabled. In particularly when Vanessa returns to the office in her wheelchair, her former colleagues talk down to her as if she was a toddler. Director Frank A Cappello frames the film to exaggerate Bob's sense of alienation in the world. Bob trudges slowly out to lunch as speeded up cars roar past him. He is often shot in extreme close-up, sweating, with a particularly attractive pimple glowing on his forehead.

In the end, though, the film fails to say anything terribly original about alienation and the modern world, other than that it's enough to drive some people crazy. And I think we knew that. A moderately entertaining oddity.

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I had the pleasure of being invited to watch the screening of "He Was A Quiet Man" in LA the 15th of March at the Wilshire Fine Arts Theater. I am not a film critic therefore I can't really dissect the film and all its cinematic attributes. I can only say that the story was very cohesive and consistent. The characters were completely believable and the dialog, camera work, music, editing and special effects were first rate. The story itself is what makes this film special. I don't even want to start to recap any part of it for the readers because being a "dark comedy" requires fast transition from being taking down a serious and dramatic path only to be presented with dialog and/or visuals that instantaneously transition to comedy. That takes witty dialog, perfect timing in presentation and results in audience spontaneous reaction with laughter. This film does all those things and very well. Therefore, if I "preview" any of the film's action or twists and turns, it will utterly ruin it for you when you see it for the first time.

What this film does not do is wrap everything up in a neat package in 100 minutes. Nor do I think it is supposed to. The film and its story is very complex but not in a confusing way. What I mean is that when you walk out of the theater, the film literally continues in your head for the next 24 hours. As you will process what you saw and experienced and remember details that you might have missed or overlooked in the theater and you will experience what I call "Ah Ha" moments of understanding. I recommend that you see it with a friend that you can talk to about it over the next several days and compare impressions and observations with. Frank Cappello who wrote, directed, co-produced and even wrote the music for the movie has given his best work yet. The cast and crew responded in kind and created a real work of cinematic art for us to enjoy. If you enjoy a film that is a bit quirky, contains lots of nuance, makes you think and at the same time may expose a little of your own insecurities, I highly recommend the film as a must see not just once but several times.

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Christian Slater takes on the role of the bullied office worker hopelessly infatuated with a young female colleague. His boss is verbally abusive, his colleagues remote and his personal life lonely. Other than his pet fish and TV he has no other activities once he leaves his miserable office. Even his next door neighbors are hostile.

This film is a cross between many movies we have seen in not so recent past. I keep thinking about "The Machinist" film about a man who is so delusional that he is unable to distingish his thoughts from reality. In this role, Slater brings performance that is absolutely amazing. Even his physical appearance makes him a whole new persona. I was mesmerized by the film but the ending left me wondering. That is until I saw film extras and realized that director himself had difficulty deciding on the ending. There were three alternate endings.

Performance and story are compelling. Fans of the actor William H. Macy will be delighted too. While this film may not have a mass appeal of box office smash, it is definitely worth watching.

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