He Was A Quiet Man

This oddly touching drama was released a couple weeks ago on DVD. I want to know why it was never given the wide release in theaters that it well deserved. Films of this caliber are few and far between these days. I was extremely suprised with how awesome He Was A Quiet Man turned out to be.

Christian Slater (3000 Miles to Graceland, Broken Arrow) plays Bob Maconel. Bob brings a gun to work everyday just in case he works up enough courage to use it on his co-workers. Just when he thinks he is ready to pull the trigger another employee beats him to it. He watches his fellow worker's bodies hit the floor and manages to use his weapon on the assailant. As Bob is hailed as the office/community hero his life becomes increasingly uncomfortable despite the circumstantially unique relationship he builds with a female victim of the shooting played by Elisha Cuthbert (The Girl Next Door, 24).

Slaters performance? Magnificent. What a great role for him. Completely different from anything you would expect from him. He leads the film with an engrossing portrayal of a man on the brink of his own sanity. A man who's goldfish mock him. Truly this movie is worth seeing just for this character.

Cuthberts performance? Slightly less magnificent. Not that I think she is a really great actress... because she is not (I mean seriously... did anyone else see Captivity?), but I think she pulls this one off decently. She plays Vanessa, a woman who was shot in the spine during the siege and is not paralyzed from the neck down. It is really hard to decide whether or not you like the character, and she consistently makes each of her scenes as awkward/uneasy/unpredictable as she can.

Ah and then there is William H. Macy (I'm not even going to give examples of movies he has been in because if you don't know... you need to look him up you fool). Macy plays the completely aloof CEO of the company Bob and Vanessa work(ed) for. He is one of those genuinely fake people that heads up every major corporation in America. Spot on portrayal.

So. Let's talk about writer/director Frank A. Capello. Where in the crap did this guy come from? The last movie he wrote was Constantine (suck) and before that his only noteworthy effort was Suburban Comando. He has only had two other chances at directing and both were over twelve years ago (No Way Back, American Yakuza). This guy is definitely worth watching. Superb directing, excellent story telling. Oh yea and did I mention he co-wrote/performed the soundtrack with Robert Cosio.

The soundtrack by the way. Holy ish. Awesome. I'm going to go find this and buy it. So perfectly tailored to every scene. These two should work together more often.

This is another one I really regret I didn't see in 2007 (when it came out) because It would be all over that list of mine. I highly suggest seeing this movie. Darkly comedic, surreal, quirky, and gruesome. You won't be disappointed.

4.5/5 Stars