Amok - He Was a Quiet Man

Frank A. Cappello, writer and director of He Was a Quiet Man, is a man with something to prove, having written the hilariously bad Hulk Hogan vehicle Suburban Commando, and directing the wholly disappointing Constantine. He Was a Quiet Man, whilst not an unqualified success, is one of the underseen gems of 2007.

The film is essentially an amalgam of A History of Violence, Falling Down, and Office Space, with a pile of quirks to boot. Bob Maconel (the hilariously disguised Christian Slater), a despondent office worker, decides that he is going to perform a murderous rampage at his work office, yet before he can do so, a fellow maniac beats him to it. However, Bob, in protecting the one person that he cares about, the beautiful Vanessa (Elisha Cuthbert), guns down the assailant, and inadvertently becomes a hero.

Bob is unashamedly similar to Michael Douglas' "D-Fens" character from Falling Down, kitted out in a shirt and tie, and even further, seeks moments of reflection in the great outdoors, although in this instance, there are no Mexican gangsters attempting to rob him. The similarities do, thankfully, stop there – this film is born of something else, with its CGI traffic whizzing by at astronomical speeds as Bob dawdles along, illustrating the drudgery of Bob's life without an ounce of subtlety. Whilst the film as a whole is overly reliant on visual curiosities such as this, the animated, talking fish which eggs Bob on to kill his colleagues is delightfully colourful, and mildly amusing to boot.

As one can gather from the above paragraph, He Was a Quiet Man is very surreal in a hilarious sort of way. Essentially, if you gave David Lynch a funny bone, you'd probably end up with something remarkably similar to this. Despite the aforementioned reliance on visual effects, the film is unquestionably carried by the barely-recognisable Slater who, despite his recent collaboration with tragically awful director Uwe Boll, proves that he is still worth something in Hollywood, with comic timing that is nothing short of spot on.

Bob is essentially revered by everyone around him for his "heroic" actions – he is given a new job, his colleagues no longer think of him as a schmuck, and the sexy office bitch wants to have sex with him, yet the film's real point of contention is Cuthbert's character. Vanessa is left paralysed following the shooting, wishing that she was dead, and moreover, she wishes that Bob, who saved her life, would kill her.

A surprisingly understated (until the climatic scenes) conundrum surfaces as an aside to this drama – Bob still finds those around him utterly repugnant, and he considers whether or not to carry out what the other gunner started, as well as putting Vanessa out of her misery, of course. The film carries these questions very well – it is at times predictable, and occasionally not so, yet it never ceases to lose its sense of intrigue. The film's examination of the way in which humans operate is not intricate, and verges on syrupy at times, yet what is most entertaining about He Was a Quiet Man is its surreal spirit. Furthermore, even in its sweetness, the film explores the lives of disabled persons with a surprising level of insight and honesty . It may be exaggerated, and at times, even humorous, yet its approach is undeniably refreshing, particularly in relation to how the disabled manage to still engage in an active and healthy sex life.

He Was a Quiet Man never remains comfortable, constantly fidgeting and posing new questions for both ourselves and Bob to consider. The film follows through with an insane close, yet it is the most manically reasoned, and therefore, perhaps the most realistic end possible (although term "realism" is a very tenuous one in a film as twisted as this). The ending comes very abruptly, and little is done to satisfy viewer curiosity, yet we are given the vital answers, even if they aren't wholly satisfying, and are a tad questionable. We are left to ponder several things, yet when the preceding ninety minutes are so intentionally devoid of poignance, the film may simply leave your mind as the final frame does.

Christian Slater's latest and greatest effort (at least for a while) is A History of Violence without the graphic violence, Falling Down without the social commentary, and Office Space without the sagacious humour. Yes, it is a blend of all three films, at the cost of diluting each of them. The film's worst crime may be never allowing us to particularly care for Bob (or anyone) as much as we did for D-Fens in Schumacher's film, yet even despite its relative superficiality, He Was a Quiet Man remains a thoroughly entertaining, inventive and quirky film that will have nihilists the world over utterly dumbfounded (myself included). Elisha Cuthbert pulls out a career best (in that she is above tolerable, and even "good"), William H Macy plays the corporate yes-man with glee, and Slater, with great aid from his fabulous make-up department, looks and acts with great hilarity. It is unfortunate that this film, embracing its flaws as it so flagrantly does, has yet to find a large audience, and as such, it instantly becomes one of the indie staples of 2007.

Frankly I was shocked by just how good Christian Slater was in this film and trust me Christian Slater and good are definitely two words I never thought I would put in the same sentence. So yes you can say I was very presently surprised, I remember first hearing about this film and the quality reviews it had been getting and I was a bit reluctant when hearing just who was included in the cast. As much as I was surprised by Christian Slater I felt the exact opposite about Elisha Cuthbert, how she continues to get roles amazes me, I guess there are directors and producers that are just so mesmerized by they way she looks that they are fooled into thinking she is anything but god awful. Plus, was anyone really fooled by the obvious use of a body double in her nude scene. If she doesn't want to do the scene then just don't do it, or even be a little creative with you shot choices, instead we get one of the most unconvincing body double shots ever filmed. Anyway, enough on the cast, this film is very unique in it's story and the way it's director chooses to tell it, some very interesting special effects are used throughout and in some very unconventional ways. The films final act is by far it's weakest point, a cop out ending to a film that deserved better.

"He Was a Quiet Man" is perhaps the most original and unpredictable movie I've ever seen. If you're looking for something "normal", you should probably look elsewhere.

A story of an extremely lonely, put-upon, disturbed man who desperately wants to be Somebody. Christian Slater plays this man absolutely brilliantly. In watching his performance, I kept thinking "Where is Christian Slater?" ... Well, he's not even in the neighborhood. Well done, guy!

The direction is absolutely amazing: colorful, imaginative, darkly funny, and surreal. Cubicles, and hummingbirds, and talking fish, oh my!

While the film is not particularly emotionally satisfying (to say the least), on the cerebral and aesthetic level, it delivers big time.

"He Was a Quiet Man" answers the musical question: "Now maniacs will think twice before going crazy."

Yessiree.

...that a human mind is capable of creating such intriguing plot - so terrifying and captivating this movie is. Frank Capello is obviously a man of genius. But he is not nice and gentle to his audience. The movie is sharp-straight, honest and pretty cruel to a person watching it. It doesn't compromise. Don't expect it to comply with general drama movie rules.

*** BE AWARE OF SPOILERS BELOW ***

After you ve seen 50% of it or so you think it's pretty common drama, quite predictable and possibly happily ending one. Well, its not. Not at all. And so shockingly not.

Cast is perfect. I would never think Slater could fit into the role of Bob. W.Macy would fit better, I thought. But these thoughts faded away.

The movie is not open-ended despite what some people say. You just have to think harder than you usually do while watching a regular movie. Be more attentive or watch it again.

Capello makes you think. If you want to know what really happened analyze the details. There are answers.

I give 9 out of 10, because Capello rudely and savagely ruined my hopes for the better ending :)

I liked this movie. My wife saw it first and has been recommending that I see ever since.

I am a fan of Christian Slater and his portrayal of the lonesome loser is excellent. I could really feel the gut wrenching moments that he went through. The costume for him his excellent. I almost did recognize him.

Elisha Cuthbert, a Canadian beauty, while always a please to watch never has made it a reason for me to watch.

**** SPOILER ALERT**** The real issue I had here with this movie is the striking similarity in the way the plot unfolded as it does in the movie Boxing Helena (a personal favorite). While the characters, circumstances and personal relationships between the characters were different the end result is the same. The story teller takes you down one path only to bring you full circle in the end. The physical dependency on Elisha's character has on Christian is very similar and you just know that this is not on a level playing field.

Somewhere about the half way point I made the connection and knew where the movie would end up. I was truly hoping to be wrong and to see the love in the story conquer all.