A scathing, skillfully made indictment of the go-go '80s. What impressed me most about this movie is how trim it is. It clocks in at a swift 93 minutes, and the time goes by very quickly. I was shocked when I realized that the climax was approaching.
This is a movie that's very heavy on symbolism, but it's not the kind of symbolism that hits you over the head. Cigars, lighters, magic, electrical appliances, homelessness, vehicles - all of these things take on symbolic significance in the film, but it's not anything you think about until the movie's over. In an era where directors treat audiences like stupid sheep, hence turning the audiences into said animals, it's nice to see a movie that's more of a throwback.
Michael Caine plays Graham Marshall, an upper level executive at the Gibb Corporation. Interestingly, we are never told exactly what Gibb DOES, only that Graham is in the marketing department. Graham is expecting a promotion to head of the department, as is his shrewish, greedy wife (Swoosie Kurtz). Graham is passed over for an obnoxious, younger, well-coiffed schmuck (Peter Riegert), who immediately goes about making Graham as obsolete as possible in order to eliminate some of the competition. After being passed over, and after an unfortunate incident involving the more-or-less accidental subway murder of a beggarly vagrant, Graham begins to come just a tad unglued.
He starts by calmly killing his wife. Envigorated by her death, he moves out of their country home, buys an apartment in the city, and initiates an affair with a co-worker (Elizabeth McGovern). Graham is still unsatisfied, however, and decides to kill his boss, using his new girlfriend as a cover. The plan works to perfection until a cop (Will Patton, with stunningly bad hair) starts sniffing around. Then Graham needs to deviate from the plan.
What's so great about this movie is the ending. The way that Graham digs himself out of trouble is so simple that some would almost call it unbelievable, and that would be a valid opinion. Another opinion (the one I happen to hold) is that it's poetic and stark and perfectly in line with the number one rule of satire: make them laugh, then make them realize that it's really not funny at all.
Michael Caine, one of our finest actors, picks this movie up and carries it on his back. It all hinges on his performance, which is wonderful. Over the course of an hour and a half, he goes from a meek, henpecked marketing executive to a sleek, dangerous, carnivorous Wall Street animal - it's something of an ancestor to Christian Bale's work in "American Psycho". The supporting cast is just that - supportive. They all acquit themselves nicely, but it's Caine's picture.
Rent this one. Very much worth the four bucks.
This is a movie that's very heavy on symbolism, but it's not the kind of symbolism that hits you over the head. Cigars, lighters, magic, electrical appliances, homelessness, vehicles - all of these things take on symbolic significance in the film, but it's not anything you think about until the movie's over. In an era where directors treat audiences like stupid sheep, hence turning the audiences into said animals, it's nice to see a movie that's more of a throwback.
Michael Caine plays Graham Marshall, an upper level executive at the Gibb Corporation. Interestingly, we are never told exactly what Gibb DOES, only that Graham is in the marketing department. Graham is expecting a promotion to head of the department, as is his shrewish, greedy wife (Swoosie Kurtz). Graham is passed over for an obnoxious, younger, well-coiffed schmuck (Peter Riegert), who immediately goes about making Graham as obsolete as possible in order to eliminate some of the competition. After being passed over, and after an unfortunate incident involving the more-or-less accidental subway murder of a beggarly vagrant, Graham begins to come just a tad unglued.
He starts by calmly killing his wife. Envigorated by her death, he moves out of their country home, buys an apartment in the city, and initiates an affair with a co-worker (Elizabeth McGovern). Graham is still unsatisfied, however, and decides to kill his boss, using his new girlfriend as a cover. The plan works to perfection until a cop (Will Patton, with stunningly bad hair) starts sniffing around. Then Graham needs to deviate from the plan.
What's so great about this movie is the ending. The way that Graham digs himself out of trouble is so simple that some would almost call it unbelievable, and that would be a valid opinion. Another opinion (the one I happen to hold) is that it's poetic and stark and perfectly in line with the number one rule of satire: make them laugh, then make them realize that it's really not funny at all.
Michael Caine, one of our finest actors, picks this movie up and carries it on his back. It all hinges on his performance, which is wonderful. Over the course of an hour and a half, he goes from a meek, henpecked marketing executive to a sleek, dangerous, carnivorous Wall Street animal - it's something of an ancestor to Christian Bale's work in "American Psycho". The supporting cast is just that - supportive. They all acquit themselves nicely, but it's Caine's picture.
Rent this one. Very much worth the four bucks.