In this latest examination of the male midlife crisis (See American Beauty, Analyze This), our hero decides he has had enough of the family business: hitman for hire. He starts visiting a psychologist, where he meets a pretty young thing and is soon infatuated. His whole life has been planned for him by his domineering father, and he feels unable to stand up to him. However, when he learns that his father has started teaching his young son how to shoot and kill, and he gets a contract to kill his own psychologist, things quickly come to a head.
90 minutes, No Persons under 16
Drama, On the Art Circuit
William H. Macy, John Ritter, Neve Campbell, Donald Sutherland, Tracey Ullman, Barbara Bain
Director
Henry Bromell
Screenplay
Henry Bromell
Music
Brian Tyler
Cinematography
Jeff Jur
Sound formats
Dolby SR
Soundtrack
Not available
Made in
2000
Produced by
Artisan Entertainment, Mad Chance, The Vault, Tin Toy Productions LLC
Ratings
Scale (Max)
20
South African Media
The MoviesiteIan Douglas
8
Cape ArgusLen Ashton
10
Cape ArgusRafiek Mammon
15
The StarJanine Walker
10
Die BurgerFrancois Smith
10
TygerburgerMariana Malan
10
Sunday TimesBarry Ronge
10
SA City LifeTony Jackman
15
International Media
ReelViews (USA)James Berardinelli
13
Internet (IMDB)751 Netizens
15
Average .. 58%
12
Visitor Ratings
Robin Golden (25)
16
Theo Landey (26)
14
Jaco van der Merwe (32)
16
Average .. 77%
15
Visitor Comments
Ian Douglas: A rather dark comedy, more of an adult drama really. It's on the art circuit, and will not appeal to a younger audience, even though it features Neve Campbell getting topless (IIRC).
Robin Golden (25): Not your typical criminal-who-isn't movie. Some very interesting ideas around nurture vs. nature.
Ends strongly and leaves you thinking.
Theo Landey (26): A very slow and enjoyable tale of a man driven to face his true cause of unhappiness once the only true cause of his happiness is threatened (read that again, in case you missed it) Considering the poor writing, I think the actors handled it very well. Macy has such an unique delivery that one never knows whether to laugh or cry at his sadness. Neve Campbell is her usual quirky self, never quite understood her motivation for opening her doors to strangers - but it was Macy's story anyway - so why wonder? Tracey Ullman was okay and was the kid - seemed to be anticipating the end from the start. Sutherland was excellent and you wanted him dead from the moment he sat bent over his food in the first scene. Overall I liked this movie, but felt that no one was really trying - it seemed like the movie should have been called 'don't panic'
Jaco van der Merwe (32): Finely nuanced performances all around, and a refreshingly non-Hollywood treatment of the plot with a powerful ending.
