'He Was a Quiet Man'
(William H. Macy, Christian Slater, et al / DVD / NR / (2006) 2007 / Anchor Bay Ent.)
Overview: Bob Maconel (Christian Slater) endures another eight
hours in a dull grey cubicle.
Ignored by his co-workers, Bob feels completely
invisible and out of sync
with the world. On one strange day he crosses the
line from potential killer
to inadvertent hero when he saves beautiful Venessa
(Elisha Cuthbert).
His Boss (William H. Macy) transforms Bob into a new
man but his good fortune
is short lived when the Object of his Desire asks him
to end her life.
DVD Verdict: Christian Slater uglies up to play a put-upon office shlub who becomes an unlikely hero in a bizarre and very dark comedy drama. Although the budget is low and the plot uneven, it’s got a certain cultish charm that should appeal to disaffected office workers.
Slater is a cubicle-labouring loser called Bob who, when not fantasising about the office hottie (Elisha Cuthbert), keeps a revolver in his drawer and dreams about killing the staff, egged on by a tank of talking goldfish. Hey, I said this was a cult film. But he isn’t the only one nursing murderous thoughts and, when a co-worker starts gunning down the workforce, Bob heroically steps in.
Also starring William H Macy, Slater gives it his all, sporting bad glasses and a combover, while Cuthbert (of 24 fame) finally gets a part which actually requires her to act. In truth Slater does well to soften the lines of his no-hoper caricature, but writer-director Cappello steers his film to nowhere particularly memorable ... sorry. This is a Widescreen Presentation (1.78:1) enhanced for 16x9 TVs and comes with the Special Features of:
First look at HE WAS A QUIET MAN
Deleted and Alternate Scenes
Audio Commentary with Writer/Director Frank A. Cappello
Theatrical Trailer
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