The Hand

Not a lot of people feel this, but the way films are made have changed since the beginning of the millennium. From blocking, cinematography, film stock, writing, pacing, everything is different. So it's really refreshing to watch michael caine do his thing in this oliver stone horrorfest. What might have been over the top campy shtick in the 80s becomes infinitely watchable.

I agree about the similarities to the shining but doesn't quite match up. The comments about the burning car i don't agree with. It's inserted to show michael caine getting unhinged the more he suspects he's got a pet killer hand out there.

A great movie to check out. Really fun.

As a psychological thriller this actually works. In large part because of Michael Caine. As a B movie about a killer hand or a schizo cartoonist it features Olive Stone's tortured man, driven to ruin by a woman, whose lack of self-knowledge and unchecked rage propel him to violence. I kind of agree with another reviewer's disappointment at the ending not wrapping it up, but The Hand is enough of a thing that I feel neither way about the end. Stone's vitriol for women, a characterization many have stuck on throughout his career, is very apparent here. Caine as Johnathan Lansdale is comfortable in his beautiful country home, crafting a semi-popular syndicated cartoon. But his yogic wife Anne (Andrea Marcovicci) wants to do something with her life and demands a move to NYC. This ends up undoing him, but not before he struggles with having his writing/drawing hand severed. Without saying more, I'd recommend this for Caine's gradual unraveling, an engrossing trip into The Mind and even a good Oliver Stone cameo.

Oliver Stone and Michael Caine may well feel a little embarrassed by this tale of a cartoonist haunted by his own severed drawing hand, but despite it's ludicrous premise and rather rubbery effects from Stan Winston, the film isn't all THAT bad.

Michael Caine brings an amiable nonchalance to the E. C. horror comic style proceedings while portraying his character's ever growing bitterness perfectly. While the story provides little in surprises the film does work on more than one level, leaving the viewer wondering if what's going on, is all in the mind of Caine's character or that it is indeed actually happening. And for a film like this that makes you think, or more fittingly, makes you stop thinking how all very silly it all is, is no mean feat.

OK, the murders weren't gory (Just strangling), it was slow at sometimes, but still an enjoyable movie. I mean, Idle Hands was gory, funnier, fast-moving, has a great soundtrack, and better, but it's still a great flick.

The story is about a cartoonist played by Michael Caine who shows his girl a lizard's tail (The name of the story the movie is based on) which is still moving which fore-shadows what happens later in the movie. Then in an automobile accident, he loses his hand. They can't find it, so they give him a robot hand for a replacement. And the hand he lost was the hand he draws and writes with, so they have to have a replacement. He complains the artist is not as good as him and they find a recent cartoon scribbled on. And then there's the murders. A bum (played by director Oliver Stone) is killed by the hand (In a brilliant black and white sequence). Then Caine moves to some place to teach and cheats on another girl. Then other murders happen.

I won't give away what else happens. If you want a psychological thriller about a killing hand, rent this (Or And Now the Screaming Starts). But if you want a killer hand and a comedy, see Idle Hands (Don't listen to critics).

The Hand: B+ Idle Hands: A-

The comic book writer and cartoonist Jonathan "Jon" Lansdale (Michael Caine) is the creator of the successful hero "Mandro" and lives with his wife Anne Lansdale (Andrea Marcovicci) and their daughter Lizzie in the countryside. Anne wants to move to New York and has an argument with Jon while driving on the road. She distracts with an impatient driver and has a car accident with a truck where Jon loses his right hand. The hand is not found and Jon needs to use prosthesis. They move to New York and his editor Karen Wagner (Rosemary Murphy) offers another cartoonist to proceed with "Mandro". However Jon is not happy with the modifications introduced in his character by the new cartoonist and Karen let him go.

Without money, Jon moves to California to teach in a college while Anne and Lizzie stay in New York for a few more months. Jon has a love affair with his student Stella Roche (Annie McEnroe) and he feels attracted by her. However when his colleague Brian Ferguson (Bruce McGill) tells that Stella is an easy woman, Jon does not want to see her. However, his severed hand kills Stella and when Brian tells that he is going to the police to report that Stella is missing, his hand also kills him. Meanwhile Anne and Lizzie come to his house to spend Christmas with him. Soon he learns that Anne is betraying him and that she intends to go to Los Angeles with Lizzie. Out of the blue, his hand tries to strangle Anne and Jon follows it. Is it possible that the hand does exist to kill whoever anger him?

"The Hand" is an early film directed by Oliver Stone with a creepy story. The plot is developed in slow pace and the mystery remains until the last scene when the viewer finally understands what happened. Michael Caine has a great performance as usual and the movie is intriguing and engaging. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "A Mão" ("The Hand")