LeonLouisRicci
Owen Wilson Shows Versatility in this Serial Killer Movie and is Perfectly Cast. He Delivers a Low-Key, Self Involving, and Dual Personality that Will Linger Long After the Film Ends.It's a Divisive Movie. Some Fans of Thrillers and Serial Killer Movies will Initially Get All Hot and Bothered because of the Dark Subject. But This Movie's Tone is Anything but Hot. It's Temperature is Cool, Never Arising Beyond Simmering and that Makes This One Different, and Refreshing.The Killings are Detached in a Dementia with a Disturbing Delivery and Mesmerizes. A Good Cast and a Thoughtful, if Restrained Script and Attitude the Film Fascinates in its Frequent Use of Wilson's Narration.The Movie is Deep Without Being Pretentious as it Takes On the Charming Killer Personality. It Sort of Resonates the Aftermath of the Prolific and Likability Reminding of Ted Bundy. It Sustains the Suspense with Subtility and Wit. Outstanding in its Field and Balances the Genre with a Very Different Take on the Psychosis of the Psycho with a Rare and Riveting Reversal of Expectations. A Unique and Unsettling Peak Behind the Curtain and it Demonstrates Our Proclivity to be Persuaded by Surface and Superficiality. A Winner and a Real Diversional Treat from the Formula.
viewsonfilm.com
The tag line for this flick's dated trailer reads, "when he's around, nothing quite adds up." That maybe so. For me though, The Minus Man as a September 1999 release, "adds" up to something mighty special. It's underrated. In fact it's so underrated that hardly anyone in the free world bothered to see it (it played on about 45 screens total). I hope my enthusiastic review might stir up a small cult following. After all, any movie this good, deserves a little resurrection.Directed by the guy who scripted the futuristic Blade Runner and possessing daydreaming sequences that involve two philosophical detectives, The Minus Man follows the journey of low key serial killer Vann (with 2 n's) Siegert. Owen Wilson plays Siegert and at the time, he took this serious role in between comedic stints like The Cable Guy (1996) and his big hit Wedding Crashers (2005). I gotta admit, his performance is pretty impressive. He comes off as a relaxed, laid back psychopath. His character seems to be nonchalant, carefree, and having the equivalency of a resting heart rate in the mid 30's (just a little movie speculation).He's a drifter who according to the proceedings, lost his father, doesn't owe anyone any money, and wants to I guess, end people's lives because of their suffering (I guess he's that kind of sicko). He goes around poisoning people by persuading them to take a drink out of his silver flask full of Amaretto. It is mentioned that he may be from Oregon and is heading down the California coast. He decides to stop at a small town and rent out a room. While there, he gets a job as a postal worker all the while continuing to commit murders as he masquerades as a normal, shy person. He even befriends a married couple (The Durwins played by Brian Cox as Doug Durwin and Mercedes Ruehl as Jane Durwin) and catches the eye of a co-worker in Ferrin (played by Janeane Garofalo). Everyone seems to like him and take him in. He's easy to be around, seems to be attractive to woman, and is even able to evade any policemen who don't seem to take the time to wanna solve his killings (there is a sketch of his face in the local newspaper and it looks nothing like him).Throughout The Minus Man's 1 hour 50 minute running time, you never sense that he is in any danger of getting caught or spending his life in prison. That element, which was interpreted by myself, only added to the calm, creepy vibe that forced me to think about things long after the final credits rolled.The Minus Man although categorized as your typical crime drama, is different in that it focuses more on the antagonist and hardly ever hones in on the authority figures trying to capture him. Its plot and the unmotivated actions by the main character aren't exactly clear. However, you'll still be pulled in as a viewer because of the stylishness, the somberness, and the cast of capable B-listers (Brian Cox, Janeane Garofalo, and rock star Sheryl Crow).The script is wittingly and intelligently written by director Hampton Fancher. As mentioned earlier, he co-wrote the sci-fi bender Blade Runner. If you've seen that film, you can tell that he uses his touches as a writer in that same light featured here. He's totally complex in his wording. There's a little bit of irony and you'll notice by the dialogue spoken by the actors, that nothing is what it seems. I thought it was interesting that this is the only vehicle he has ever helmed (but you wouldn't know it). He knows where to put the camera, he's good with light (I like certain scenes that are shown in a ray of bright sunshine), he lets his shots pan out, and he edits well in cuts. "Minus" was made 16 years ago. I kinda wish Hampton wasn't out of the loop and maybe someday, he could put out something new (doesn't matter what genre, I'm game).All in all, I dig this movie's title, I love its indie feel, and I think what translates on screen, is a capably numbed down thriller. Upon a second viewing, I now dub it as quietly, almost sheepishly disturbing stuff. And give credit to Wilson for being in almost every frame not to mention holding the screen in the palm of his hand (without doing a lot, just underplaying to perfection). Overall, as a rare art flick depicting a psycho killer, The Minus Man is nocturnal bliss from the reclusive 76 year old Fancher. It gets a "plus" for being a solid, late 90's cinematic tool of faux translation.
eddiez61
There's a curious mood to this odd film that belies the grim, grisly subject matter. It's almost a waking dream - a gauzy, hazy, half conscious remembrance of something vaguely unpleasant. The film takes such deliberate time in revealing the magnitude of the killer's pathology that it eventually feels as inevitable as a lazy canoe ride down river towards an unseen waterfall. What's most disturbing, most curious is that the fateful waterfall never arrives. The film just idly slips away into the murky mist of our most primal, most unnamed terrors. Owen Wilson's laconic demeanor and syrupy drawl effectively paint a compelling picture of a desperately disconnected but amiable loner. His eternally forlorn expressions are matched by an insistently melancholic soundtrack creating a tone that's unusually restrained and subdued for a genre that normally revels in overblown melodramatic spectacle. With so much technology today meticulously and cavalierly contriving obscenely graphic, hyper real vistas of nightmarish hell, it's actually refreshing to encounter a film that relies almost exclusively on the power of suggestion to implant deep within our psyches its special horror. Be patient and this nasty little movie will whisper some horribly dark voodoo into your soul.
Alexia Verona (idontknowiknowthatidontknow)
short/concise review: a drifter goes from town to town and rents a room from a couple, the stranger has a dark secret, and it's more than you'd guess.ambiguous review:a man drifts into a town and blends in like the mist seeps into the swamp. Always centered upon his own line of thought, he starts to unravel his nice but peculiar personality upon a dreamy town.philosophical review:What is going on in a person's life that makes one shelter one's self from one's conscience and let himself just be. Were his actions a product of his environment or did he choose to do what he did? Did he choose not to accept free will and let his destiny take its course? Like nature, he's never in a hurry, never a hint of discomfort. Like a destiny fulfilling itself, perhaps he knows what will happen, will happen.If you like thrillers, horror, psychological drama, and intriguing stories, you might find this movie very much to your liking.
