Man Outside

'Man Outside' (aka 'Hidden Fear') is quite the odd duck, mixing drama with a bit of romance before ultimately venturing into thriller territory. It tells the story of a man (who used to be a lawyer) living like a hermit in the woods (following the unexpected death of his wife). A female anthropologist takes an interest in the man, and the feelings seem mutual. Around the same time, kids are being abducted by a nerdy pervert with some serious mommy-issues. The local sheriff suspects our friendly hermit being the culprit, so him and his new-found love-interest must now flee from the authorities while at the same time trying to catch up with our nerdy villain. Somehow this all turns into a pretty okay movie. The opening sequence with the car is quite unique and a fine way to start the movie (since you don't really have an idea what's going on yet). All things considered, it's a little tame for its own good, but worth a watch nonetheless.

A pretty standard thriller, what sets Man Outside apart is the appearance of every member of The Band, except Robbie Robertson. I'm not sure how this came about, but they mostly all give fine performances (Rick Danko going perhaps a little to far over the top as the father of a kidnapped boy).

I was living in northwest Arkansas at the time this was filmed there, working for a radio station called "Kisser 93," and you can hear one of our DJs briefly in the first couple of minutes of the film. A couple of other area TV/radio guys (Pat Porta & Tom Earnhart) give a good account of themselves in small roles.

I'm glad this is out on DVD. While I very much enjoyed looking back on that place in that time, this isn't exactly a classic. I found Bradford Dillman's work quite good, other than his final scene; he had made a career as a TV guest star playing the handsome but often undependable middle-class guy, and in this film with his bottle-cap glasses he totally got lost in the character. Kathleen Quinlan is always good too.

Other than those performances, however, the quality is very uneven. One of the supporting characters is a (to put it nicely) husky young nerdy college student played by Andrew Barach. It's easy to see why his career in movies was brief; his comedy relief isn't much, although he does have one GREAT scene toward the end that involves the line I chose for the title of this review.

I shouldn't single out Mr. Barach; there were plenty of amateurish performances to go around, and lead actor Robert Logan frequently shows all the expression of a block of wood, while former Band member and ex-Coal Miner's Daughter's dad Levon Helm shows that only Michael Apted could direct him into looking comfortable on camera. The script itself, about a man escaping his past while living alone (other than his dog) in the wild, isn't too badly written, but has a few "huh?" moments as well.

Still, for the level of production this was, the end product is watchable and entertaining enough for a rental. You can get it through Netflix; I did.

This film was thoughtful, uplifting, suspenseful, heartfelt, a good drama, a good thriller and a good love story. But what really struck me was how the message is so on target with the things going on in the news today! The child abuse and molestation, adultery and other aspects shown in good taste within this film are regular reading in the newspapers of today. All of these complex topics are handled with skill in this film and add up to entertainment that draws you into the story and make you care about the characters.

I really enjoyed it and the performances from Brad Dillman and Kathleen Quinlan were excellent and Robert Logan makes his part most believable. Highly recommended!

This film opens up with a sports car going at high speeds through narrow roads and almost running into cars and then this car turns off on a lonely road in Arkansas. The car then proceeds to run through streams in the woods and making its on path through woods and bushes and then the driver leaves the car and you see this same car sitting in the same position through all seasons of Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall. The driver of the car is Robert Logan, (Recluse Lawyer) who lives like a hermit in the woods with only the bare essentials of living alone with his dog. Kathleen Quinlan, (Grace Freemont) is a teacher and one of her students shows her pictures of this hermit and she becomes very interested in him and decides to visit him in the woods. This story has a great deal more to tell and full of suspense and horror. Kathleen Quinlan gave an outstanding performance as well as Robert Logan. Enjoy.