I Love a Man in Uniform

This is a very different movie that isn't easy to find on either VHS or DVD. I know it as "Man In Uniform" and, unfortunately, got rid of my tape after seeing this a few times. Now I regret it because I'd like to see it again.

"Disturbing" is a word most often used to describe this story. A mentally- disturbed small-time actor gets a role in a show in which he plays a cop. He begins to think that is really is a policeman and begins to impersonate one out in the streets.

This is a Grade-B type production with actors that may not be familiar outside of Canada, but it gets by. Tom McCamus plays the main role as "Henry Adler." Brigitt Bako is interesting in here, too.

If you can find this movie and enjoy stories about wacked-out people, grab it.

I was very surprised by just how effective this movie really was. Some of the minor storylines don't work that well, but the main plot, in which an actor playing a cop starts pretending to be a cop, is great. These scenes were generally compelling, since I was never sure when (or if) he was ever going to get caught. McCamus plays the lead very well, and the rest of the cast is good, too. Quite simply, this is a very good film that deserves to be seen.

Tom McCamus gives a haunting performance as an actor playing a policeman in a television series, who blurs the thin line between fantasy and reality. While he is good at imitating cops, he is not so good with relationships. After quitting his bank job, the death of his father, and being rejected by his imaginary girlfriend, McManus starts to put his police uniform to use out on the street, impersonating a beat cop. This leads to some uncomfortable situations, and eventually murder. The acting and intensity in "A Man in Uniform" is excellent, I just wish the story had been developed a little further. Still, watching this decent into madness is absolutely riveting. - MERK

This was an excellent film. The central performance by Tom McManus is very tightly controlled and well-developed. With its premise of a mild mannered man suddenly going on a violent power trip,I was expecting something more over-the-top and lurid,something closer to "Taxi Driver" or "God's Lonely Man",but"Man in Uniform" is actually under-played and, with the exception of a few scenes involving Kevin Tighe near the end, rather low-key. The protagonist at first seems like a typical well-behaved non-entity but Tom McManus, aided by David Wellington's excellent screenplay and direction, invests him with an alienated sense of sadness that I found somewhat touching. This is a film worth seeking out.

Amazing that this was written and directed by the guy who gave us the godawful "Zombie Nightmare." It only goes to show that you CAN improve (although anything would be an improvement from that film).

"A Man in Uniform" (the U.S. title, at least) is an incredibly well made film focusing on bank employee Henry Adler who is also trying to make it as an actor. The opening shot of a police officer getting blown away is amazing. It also serves to show how Adler (well-played by McCamus), gets the inspiration necessary for his audition as a cop on a "Hill Street Blues" type of police drama. Adler's personality is so vacant that when he asks to borrow the police officer's outfit so that he can "stay in character" he slowly becomes the cop he's portraying.

A chilling urban psychodrama that deserves to be on the list with such films as "Taxi Driver", "Falling Down" and "Death Wish". 9/10.