Manglehorn

Greetings again from the darkness. For those of us who grew up with 1970's cinema, it's been painful to watch Al Pacino's career over the last two decades … with only a couple of exceptions. We have longed for the actor who became Michael Corleone, and cringed with each outing that seemed to parody his Oscar winning performance in A Scent of a Woman (1983). Along comes the latest from director David Gordon Green and with it a reappearance of that actor so worshipped by John Travolta's character in Saturday Night Fever.

A.J. Manglehorn is an elderly locksmith who lives each day under his self-designed cloud of despair. His droopy eyes, droopy shoulders and droopy social skills are eclipsed only by his love for Fanny the cat, and his daily letters to Clara – the long lost love of his life. The only other signs of life in Mr. Manglehorn are displayed when he is telling a customer that it's time to wash their car, when he is hanging out with his granddaughter, or when he is exchanging Friday flirtations with bank teller Dawn (a sparkling Holly Hunter).

Director David Gordon Green is best known for comedies such as Pineapple Express (2008), The Sitter (2011), and TV's "Eastbound & Down", and while this one (filmed in Austin, Texas) has some awkward and offbeat comedic moments, it would have to be categorized as a drama. Symbolism is everywhere as Manglehorn keeps his emotions "locked" away from his snooty yuppie son (Chris Messina) and retreats into his imaginary relationship with Clara, rather than embracing Dawn's brave come-on.

There are a couple of extraordinary scenes … Pacino and Messina talking around, rather than about, their relationship and the type of men they are; and the excruciatingly awkward and heart-breaking first date between Pacino and Hunter. The forlorn Manglehorn remains behind the locked door and allows the shadow of his dream girl to cast a pall, despite having a real life dream girl sitting across the table.

Pacino recaptures his mastery of the close-up. Such emotion from so little apparent movement is the work of a once great master who proves he still has it. Some may be put off by the lack of big action, but these are people living life and trying to make the best of it. There is a line from the movie, "When you choose this life, there is no one". It's a line that tells us so much about Manglehorn's daily approach. Whether he finds the right key matters to us for one reason … Pacino makes us care.

David Gordon Green's 'Manglehorn' is a strange film, about an unlikely protagonist, whose journey, despite some greatness, is half-baked. Fortunately, the protagonist is played by Thespian Al Pacino, who, with a strong Holly Hunter, leads this uneven tale.

'Manglehorn' Synopsis: Left heartbroken by the woman he loved and lost many years ago, Manglehorn, an eccentric small-town locksmith, tries to start his life over again with the help of a new friend.

'Manglehorn' is about loneliness & regrets. A.J. Manglehorn is a heartbroken, depressed old man, who finds hope in the form of a new friend. And some of it works. Its actually quite a decent watch, but the Writing lags at times. It gets loose & moves a bit too slowly.

Paul Logan's Screenplay isn't without merit, it definitely has a story to tell, but it lags. The protagonist's interactions with his fellow people, aren't always engaging. The best bits are when Manglehorn & his new friend are together. And yet, in totality, the result is uneven. David Gordon Green's Direction is alright. He's done better before. Cinematography is perfect. Editing is ably done.

Performance-Wise: Pacino is magic, yet again! As A.J. Manglehorn, The Acting Epitome, ignites the screen with an effortless, heartfelt performance. Holly Hunter is wonderful. Her scenes with Pacino are the highpoint of this enterprise. Its a delight to watch them.

On the whole, 'Manglehorn' is partly good, partly bland. Nonetheless, Watch it for the acting.

Manglehorn was warmly received at Austin's SXSW Film Festival. It isn't Al Pacino's best work. Of course, he is no longer the Pacino of Dog Day Afternoon, Godfather, Serpico, Scarface, Scent of a Woman and Heat, but he is still better than most. The script is solid, but not extraordinary. The film is mostly a one-man show. However, I honestly believe I would enjoy watching a film about Al Pacino watching paint dry. Pacino is just a pleasure to watch even now as an aging legend his intense screen presence remains. He is remarkable to watch when he is changing a light bulb or feeding a cat. In this film he plays an elderly locksmith who has been wounded by a long lost love and is trying to learn how to trust again. His on-again off-again attempt to build a relationship with Holly Hunter and to reconnect with his estranged son – played by Chris Messina - is certainly enjoyable. Underneath his tough interior there seems to be a heart of gold that is often only shared with beloved cat. He has so often played larger than life characters, but here he has taken on a much more ordinary and blue collar identity. The charisma is still there, but so much more of the character's emotions are internalized. We are left to wonder about all the events that have led up to who he has become. Recommended for all fans of good drama and of one of the greatest actors of our time.

Out of all the roles Al Pacino has gotten in his career, that of A.J. Manglehorn must be his most unusual one to date. This might put people off (as I suspect is the case, given the mixed reviews), but you know what? I think it's one of his best performances. Life is never easy, especially when there's a big obstacle slowing you down from trying to get through it. Something that you keep thinking about, can't STOP thinking about, maybe don't even want to. And this is the case for Manglehorn. No matter how hopeless it is, how meaningless it is to keep pondering about it, he keeps writing letters to Clara, the long-lost love of his life. His contact with people is very limited and the only true friend he has is his cat. He's working as a locksmith, but doesn't feel like he contributes much to society. His sorta pal keeps talking about his new salon, which he doesn't care about. He doesn't see his son very often either.

He keeps being isolated because he doesn't see much meaning in life as Clara doesn't respond to his letters.

This was a very fine, down-to-earth little character study about a man with low self confidence and tough luck. And it was beautiful. The conversations flowed well and felt natural, the cinematography made great use of imagery to illustrate feelings and most of all did Al Pacino blow me away completely. It was to the point that he didn't even play a character, he was... anyone. Anyone you could happen to know. There are plenty of people out there like Manglehorn and this actor gave such a figure not only flesh and bones, but also intestines.

You'd have to be a fool to skip out on such a simple, yet special and poignant film.

Manglehorn is in essence a small simple story. No CG-I, no huge twists or plot points but rather a amazingly woven story of a lonely man attempting to overcome the loss of his old love. Al Pacino plays a role very different from the norm, hes a sarcastic, sad and sometimes bitter old man who spends his days either alone at his locksmith or mourning over a love that "could have been". Without spoiling anything, Manglehorn our main character slowly learns to love life again with the help of a friend. David Gorden Green does an incredible job at making this simple story pop by making many almost surreal like scenes (Most notably the watermelon scene). There are even scenes that are downright poetic (Scenes sometimes play out as Manglehorn recites a poem in the back, this is better than it may sound). As the story progresses it get quite deep, going into interesting back-stories about Manglehorns family (Mostly about the father and son relationship) and even at times very magical elements are hinted at.

I was lucky enough to see Manglehorn at TIFF this past September. If you get the chance this is a film that needs to be seen.