He Was a Quiet Man DVD: Review By Dodd

Have you ever stopped and wondered about the "quiet guy"? I think you know who I am referring to. Whether you are a high school student, college student, or an office employee, there is always that odd duck who sticks out of the crowd as the one who is rather shy, but has a lot of thoughts and rage building up inside. The thought of such ticking time bombs amongst us is a scary thing, especially since events such as high school shootings have topped headlines and made us more cautious of those who may harbor secret agendas. This is precisely why films about such people truly play upon our fears. The recent film He Was a Quiet Man is one of these films to explore such a character. However, it throws a wrench in what appears to be a predictable agenda and comes through rather nicely with some surreal twists and turns.

Bob Maconel (Christian Slater) is a mild-mannered office worker who sits hunched in his cubicle performing redundant tasks. His bosses are younger men who wear expensive suits and get a rise out of making Bob feel like a subordinate. This is exactly why he bides his free time by mentally making a list of which six workers would eat the six rounds of his hidden firearm. He also steps outside on his lunch break with a plastic red button and imagines it as the detonation device to the corporate hell where he is imprisoned. One day, when Bob is finally ready to unload his rage on the office, someone else gets the exact same idea. It is at this moment that, rather than joining his co-worker on a destructive path, decides to kill the assailant and save the day.

Suddenly Bob is no longer the much-ignored loser at the office. His mean supervisors are suddenly kissing his ass. Even office head honcho Gene Shelby (William H. Macy) wants the opportunity to meet Bob and provide him with a cushy office. Unfortunately this office was once occupied by the lovely Venessa (Elisha Cuthbert), whose death Bob prevented by killing the first office shooter. After the shooting, she is paralyzed from the waist down and forms a warm and understanding relationship with Bob. But it is not long before Bob's inner demons begin to get the best of him. Can a tortured soul find solace, or is he doomed to once again find his insanity?

He Was a Quiet Man is not revolutionary cinema, but it certainly works. The film takes things completely over the top in the corporate environment, but does so with an agenda to emphasize. One could describe it as Office Space with a serious edge. As Bob goes through his on-again, off-again descent into madness, the movie takes on a dreamlike quality that is strange at times, but also strangely fulfilling. This includes Bob's goldfish (voiced by Project Greenlight winner John Gulager) ordering him to shoot his co-workers.

Christian Slater, who is pushing the age of 40, finally brings some maturity to this role. Rather than playing a grinning and youthful version of Jack Nicholson, the actor plays against his glamorous persona as a tormented office minion with both a thinning hairline and tolerance level. Elisha Cuthbert is also surprisingly good as the paralyzed co-worker with whom Bob falls in love. It was difficult for me to see the chemistry between the actors, but they certainly find a connection through their characters that is believable onscreen.

First Look

The title of this feature is pretty self-explanatory. Rather than reinforcing a film we have just watched, this gives more of a first look and serves as more of an advertisement than it does something with true depth.

Commentary

Director/writer Frank Cappello goes solo for this track. I rarely say this anymore, but I loved this track! There is something about the right combination of a soothing, projective voice and interesting facts that works, and Cappello has obviously prepared his notes well for this track. This compensates for the meat that the previously mentioned featurette is missing.

DVD also includes deleted scenes and a theatrical trailer.

Widescreen (1.78:1) The film captures the look of corporate hell very well. Most of the lighting is pale which contributes to the white-collar environment captured here.

5.1 Dolby Surround. As previously mentioned, the film has a dreamlike quality and so does the soundtrack. It includes some catchy songs as well as a hypnotic score by Jeff Beal.

The case is standard with one disc. The front cover pictures Slater in a tormented state, and embracing a bundle of dynamite which symbolizes his ticking rage.

He Was a Quiet Man is a very good film that should not go overlooked. It had a limited run on the film festival circuit before receiving its direct-to-DVD release. Today it is very possible for films that are actually good to miss the theaters. In fact, it seems like more crap is going to theaters as it is what the people want, while movies requiring thought are sentences to home video. I highly suggest renting this dark comedy and enjoying Christian Slater as you have never seen him before.

Questions? Comments? Just want to talk movies? Drop me a line at dodd@movieweb.com