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The Plumber (TV) More at IMDbPro »
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| Index | 22 reviews in total |
16 out of 17 people found the following review useful:
You really oughta ALWAYS check your tradesman's ID!, 10 November 2001
Author:
Noel Bailey (uds3@hotmail.com) from Longmont: Colorado US
What a straight-up quirky little gem from Peter Weir. Proof indeed that
you
do not need big budgets to make celluloid winners. Weir has such a great
talent for drawing out the extraordinary from the most ordinary of
scenarios. A bush-walk that defies explanation at HANGING ROCK, a country
town with a lurid secret in THE CARS THAT ATE PARIS, oveflowing domestic
storm-water in THE LAST WAVE and here, the humble PLUMBER, or maybe the
stranger from Hell?
Filmed for the most part in Jill Cowper's (Judy Morris's) apartment, if
not
the bathroom itself, her nightmare starts when she has need to call a
tradesman to fix faulty plumbing in her bathroom. Whether Max has multiple
pre-emptive social issues to deal with or simply reacts later to her
upper-class dismissive treatment of his blue-collar status is not made
clear. In the bathroom however he rules unchallenged and Jill finds
herself
at the mercy of what appears to be a serially disturbed
tradesman.
Less of a thriller and more a black comedy, Weir places his protaganists
each in unfamilar locales. Jill, a highly educated anthropologist, married
to a doctor and studying indigenous behavioural activity has absolutely no
idea how to respond to this intrusive workman who stops for 10 minute
tea-breaks every five minutes and composes a rock-song for which he asks
her
considered opinion. While the situations thrown up are critically funny at
times (Kants gives his greatest performance here) an air of extreme unease
pervades proceedings. By degrees, the bathroom is totally destroyed as Max
works to compensate for that social-class chip on his shoulder, the size
of
a Redwood! The scene of the dinner party wherein an overseas guest is
trapped under collapsed rubble in the bathroom is a hoot.
After Morris has hit rock-bottom and realises that fear is the key, she
devises a way to get back at him. Some viewers regard the end as "soft" if
not a total cop-out. What it actually shows is that just sometimes,
fighting
fire with fire works!
THE PLUMBER was filmed in Adelaide and originally received limited
theatrical release. It was not until it was shown on television however
that
the "legend" of this great little movie was founded and its popularity
mushroomed.
Not to be missed under any circumstances.
10 out of 10 people found the following review useful:
One of My Personal Favorites, 9 August 2004
Author:
schadenfreude2 from Michigan, USA
Hearing about this great little film from many people, I spent tireless
hours on retail sites tracking a VHS copy down. Finally I caught a
cheap copy on Half.com and it came several days later, (cut to one
month later, when Weir's "Cars that Ate Paris" debuted on
easily-accessible DVD format with "The Plumber" as a double feature. Go
figure.) But I sat down to watch it and proceeded to laugh for quite
some time.
The story is basically about this Aussie anthropologist studying
Aboriginal tribes as her boring nutritionist husband is constantly
talking shop. She's constantly left to her solitude and values her
privacy, which makes it all the more irritating when a strange plumber
invades her life. Somewhat threatening and somewhat a misunderstood
doof, this plumber spends hours holed up in her bathroom doing nothing
but lounging around, hammering shower tiles, writing folk songs and
ripping pipes from the walls.
It's a precursor to "The Cable Guy," but don't let that discourage you,
(I liked "Cable Guy" myself). It's funny as hell and has a great
ending. I'll even forgive it for the nutritionist's ponderous subplot
that goes nowhere. It's only 79 minutes--whaddaya got to lose?
Movie: A
8 out of 9 people found the following review useful:
A Real Sleeper that's Lots of Fun, 15 July 2001
Author:
richard winters (rwint) from Chicago, Illinois
Little known Australian gem that takes the old 'girl stalked by psycho' theme and gives it a fun twist with some astute social commentary. A highly intellectual, educated women suddenly finds herself being manipulated by a slovenly, low class plumber. She is an expert at primitive cultures, yet is unable to deal with her own 'civilized' culture. As he tears away at her bathroom, he also tears away at the line that seperates the classes. Playfully pokes at everything from how much control one really has on their enviroment, to how vulnerable we ALL are and how no one is really that far removed or 'above' anyone else. Also aptly displays how our social mores, customs, and status are only their as long as everyone respects them. Yet the best thing about this sleeper is how everyone, including her friends and husband, are so caught up in their own little worlds that they cannot fully fathom the extent of her fear. Bringing to light the old adage of us all having our own 'private hell'. Mono sound and a bit of a 'cop out' ending are the only detractions.
9 out of 11 people found the following review useful:
This Peter Weir obscurity is really worth tracking down. A wonderful low-budget, low key thriller shot through with black humour., 14 March 2003
Author:
Infofreak from Perth, Australia
This obscure Peter Weir TV movie from the late 1970s is a little dated, but still very entertaining and suspenseful. The three main actors (Judy Morris, Ivor Kants and Robert Coleby) aren't exactly household names here in Australia but will be familiar to most TV viewers over the age of 30 for their roles in various soap operas and the like. All three are excellent here in what could be their best work. Morris and Coleby play married academics. Coleby is distracted and concerned about an exciting career opportunity, Morris is currently working at home engrossed in her studies of New Guinea culture, and is timid and less confident socially than her husband. One day the plumber (Kants) arrives at their flat, and from then on her life will never be the same again. Kants is charming but rough, and very odd. A Dylanesque folk singer with a "Liberals = less tax" message on the back of his jacket (Non-Australians note the Liberal Party is our equivalent of the Republicans in the US or Conservative Party in Britain), he plays mind games with Morris, who becomes increasingly uncomfortable, and ultimately terrorized. Weir keeps things quite ambiguous and we never really know whether Kants is a dangerous psychopath or just the biggest pain-in-the-arse you could ever wish not to meet. I enjoyed 'The Plumber' a lot, it's a very effective low-budget, low key thriller shot through with plenty of black humour.
10 out of 13 people found the following review useful:
Peter Weir's "thriller" movie is a rare find., 27 October 1998
Author:
Jason C. Atwood from Suffolk, VA. (U.S.A.)
Search for any kind of movie in the video stores and you'll discover that somebody had to accomplish something in the motion picture industry. THE PLUMBER is the perfect example, coming from a man who may win special honors for THE TRUMAN SHOW. Calling it a horror movie is an exaggeration on its own, but the plot is nerve-tingling as a plumber disrupts an Aussie woman's life through his wild behavior. It all adds to the panic of suspense. To make a political statement about this film, it shows that social and moral values decay in this global community we live and breathe by. Peter Weir must be given a big hand on his films, and this one needs not to be left behind in the abyss of forgotten movies.
6 out of 8 people found the following review useful:
The Dark Side of the Human Nature, 15 April 2007
Author:
Claudio Carvalho from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
In Adelaide, the wife of Dr. Brian Cowper (Robert Coleby), Jill Cowper
(Judy Morris), is developing her thesis at home to finish her Master in
Anthropology. When the plumber Max (Ivor Kants) unexpectedly arrives
for a routine check and maintenance of the piping in the bathroom, Jill
stays alone at home with the talkative weird stranger. Along the days,
he tells that he spent some time in prison, making Jill frightened with
his presence. Her friend Meg (Candy Raymond), her husband Brian and the
super's wife finds Max a simple, but nice man, but Jill does not agree.
When there is a problem in her bathroom and Max needs to stay with her
for a longer period, the tension between them increases and Jill finds
a way to get rid off the plumber.
This low budget and theatrical film is a claustrophobic and scary study
of human nature, based on the relationship of two different characters
of different social classes spending a period together. It is also
impressive how far a stressed person with culture and education may go
and how amoral can be her behavior staying alone with another disturbed
and lonely person that she can not understand. The direction and
performances are outstanding in this suspenseful and efficient
thriller. My vote is seven.
Title (Brazil): "O Encanador" ("The Plumber")
3 out of 3 people found the following review useful:
beware of the hippie stalker!, 11 March 2007
Author:
ThrownMuse from The land of the Bunyips
A married graduate student takes some time off to work on her thesis and play housewife to her doctor husband while living in a University apartment complex. One day, a plumber shows up unannounced claiming he needs to do routine maintenance but ends up making a terrible mess of her bathroom. Soon, she finds the plumber is always around, a bit snoopy, and may have ulterior motives. The Plumber is pretty good, especially considering it was apparently a TV movie, but it is a bit on the dull side. As seems to be a theme with Mr. Weir, this film explores the concept of The Other within the framework of a horror-thriller. I'd argue this is even more successful to me than Wave or Paris were, perhaps because it's main focus was on two individuals. It explores both sides and the ambiguity serves the narrative instead of causing confusion.
4 out of 6 people found the following review useful:
Well written and directed low-budget gem, 3 December 1999
Author:
CharlieB-5 from San Francisco, CA
Peter Weir shows how a good film can be made from a solid script and very
little money.
A student of anthropology attempts to understand aboriginal tribes, but is
completely baffled by the cultural chasm that separates her post-graduate
sensibilities from the working-class plumber who is sent to work on her
apartment. Is he malicious or misunderstood? The script is delightfully
ambiguous.
A little low-budget gem.
1 out of 1 people found the following review useful:
Quirky, interesting off-beat thriller, 10 September 2011
Author:
cleoew from Cincinnati, OH
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
Having caught this recently on TCM, I had actually never heard of this film before. Filmed in the latter 70s and made for TV, it is the story of Jill Cowper, a very educated anthropologist, who encounters an extremely strange plumber named Max. Unsolicited, he somehow appears at her door after Brian, her scientist/nutritionist husband, is away from the apartment (and repeatedly appears at her door when she is alone). Upon first appearance and for several instances following, I couldn't help but laugh at his bizarre antics in the bathroom. From the singing, hooting, hollering, squealing, and singing into the shower head, it was definitely a strange appearance to the woman that let him in. He appears to purposefully break out tiles and mangle the plumbing, so that he can continue to come and "work." Her husband pays quite little attention to the matter as she tries to relay her sincere fears about this disturbed individual. Even her good friend, Meg, seems to brush off what most people would think is a very dangerous situation. Also woven into the story is a clash of social classes. At least from the Max the plumber's viewpoint, who rails on about rich people, capitalism, elitism vs. his quite humble profession and education. One that left him self-conscious about his grammar, among other things. Eventually, Jill transitions from being somewhat friendly in a standoffish fashion, to being fearful and scared, to then becoming annoyed, followed by angry, culminating in her taking matters into her own hands. This is one of those films that abruptly just stops, and I would have wished it ended in a more detailed fashion, but nonetheless, it was well worth the watch. A bit of a thriller, mixed in with quirky humor and a dash of societal commentary.
3 out of 5 people found the following review useful:
changes with every viewing, 10 March 2003
Author:
Darwin Green
This is an excellent movie. On first viewing it appears simple, but upon subsequent viewings this movie takes on an interesting twist: was the woman right to do what she did, or was she overreacting? Great movie.
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