He Was A Quiet Man (2007)

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Residue movie! I woke up with it all over me and, naturally, wanted to turn to things frivolous and fun to wash it from me–not because it was a bad movie, but because it was a movie that told a story very well.

Bob Maconel (Christian Slater) is a man who has wiped his thoughts all over his face, his clothing, his work, his world. He is disgusted/ing, he is hated/ing, he is a weakling wanting to make everyone else weak–perhaps as his chance to feel like something other than the target . . . as long as everyone else is the target. Ah, the twists and complications and turns and confusion of thoughts. How easily they show themselves in the frailty of a man’s hair, the stickiness of his skin, the corroding of his misshapen teeth, the coward’s curve of his back and . . . eventually, for a moment, in the elated dance performed between the man and his lawnmower after the sweetness of a kiss.

Bob’s scattered flashes of time spent admiring his hula doll and appreciating the girl who “lights up a room” are just not enough to compensate for all his fantasies of vengeance and miserable reminders (daily gun ritual, bomb detonator, and constant scoldings from boss) of his hate and feelings of powerlessness. Bob Maconel is a man who has forgotten that he holds the power in his life and as a result has succumbed to the false belief that his value and importance are in the careless hands of those who surround him. The last scene even rings the loud truth of how much power he has over his own life.

Review–great movie, but if you’re sensitive it might ruin your great mood. Though, to me, a great look at how we shape our own lives. So, great!

Watch The Trailer