‘A man could no longer stand up to the wrongs that were around him…’
Cinema is a numbers game. You don’t make bank, you don’t work. It’s no surprise then that much of Hollywood feels safe and sanitised. Heck, I’m not even criticising. There isn’t much money to be made in producing odd, idiosyncratic films that the masses won’t warm to. This just makes it more heartening when something truly weird does come along. He Was a Quiet Man is one such film…
Bob Maconel (Christian Slater) is on the verge of taking a revolver into his office-based job and blowing everyone away. One day, spurred on by his talking goldfish, Bob brings the gun into work with the intention of going postal. The only problem is that someone beats him to it. When Bob takes down the new shooter he inadvertently becomes a hero. In the attack, Bob’s fantasy woman Vanessa (Elisha Cuthbert) is shot and paralysed. What follows is an uneasy mix of Office Space and Ikuru with some Fight Club thrown in for good measure.
He Was a Quiet Man, written and directed by Frank A. Cappello, is a truly singular piece of filmmaking. It allows both Slater and Cuthbert to step out of their respective comfort zones and both of them excel. While the former was always going to bring something special to such a unique role, it is Cuthbert who really surprises in a whirlwind performance that anchors the film’s topsy-turvy second half.
Many will be put off by the fact that He Was a Quiet Man is tonally uneven and difficult to warm to but this is a film with layers and nuance. Highly recommended.