The Neighbor

I enjoyed this film for many reasons: its a simple, well written story of a good samaritan caught in a tragic thought process. It is told from a single point of view, and everything about the writing and direction of the film remains true to it. This is a contemplative character piece, not a weekend blockbuster. It is going to be slower by nature, but ultimately appreciated by cinephiles.

From the looks of the movie poster, I thought it would be an exciting thriller with enough mystery and suspense to give you an edge-of-your-seat experience. Instead, what we got was a mediocre movie about a man named Mike (William Fichtner), who likes to garden, finding himself getting smitten with a younger woman who moves in next door with her hot-tempered boyfriend.

Fichtner portrayed his Mike character to be very shy, meek, and mild; however, the results was painfully awkward. You actually feel uncomfortable to be in Fichtner's shoes and you cannot really tell if it was just bad acting or if that is how the character was supposed to be.

While there are some mysterious moments in the movie, including the suspicions of abuse in the hands of the young woman's boyfriend, much of the movie gives you the run around, hinting at excitement and traction but resulting in anti-climatic deliveries. And, much of the supporting characters weren't sympathetic. Mike's wife (Jean Louisa Kelly) was an unforgiving annoying little thing and his son (Colin Woodell) served no purpose in the movie. Mike's friend Brian (Erich Anderson) was an irritating jerk who cusses like a sailor, trying too hard insert some macho-ness in the movie.

Overall, the film is slow with no traction.

Grade D.

This film is about a middle-aged man living a mundane life until a couple move into the house next door.

Let me start this by saying that this isn't awful but it's not great either. Our main character is, in my opinion, a strange duck. He comes off as awkward and sorta creepy but that may have been intentional for the emphasis about how stagnant his life is. He's a bit pervy too. He's constantly eavesdropping, gawking at and inserting himself into positions that provide an opportunity to interact with his female neighbor. He also wants to be heroic but when he has the chance he fails to speak his mind.

I'm probably not gonna watch this again. The movie had a slow pace and it was less than thrilling. I didn't care for the way it ended. The acting, camera work and storyline were decent but it is a low budget movie. If you want to kill some time, check it out. If you are looking for dark thrills, you should look elsewhere.

There isn't much to this movie at all. Just a old neighbor staring at a young hot chick. Did I miss something but to me it seemed like the guy Mike was slow or had some kind of illness. He moved kinda like a robot. Nothing was ever mentioned maybe I missed it.

This is a unique film in that it is painfully slow and really uncomfortable. Never have I had to pause a film so many times just to recompose myself from the deep discomfort and embarrassment caused by the lead character.

I can't say I enjoyed it but it is unique and although it is incredibly slow it does keep you interested.