The Minus Man (1999)

A cold-blooded serial killer floats around the country and chooses his victims from people who complain about their lives and indicate a willingness to be killed. His murders are introduced... See full summary »

Director:

Hampton Fancher

Writers:

Lew McCreary (novel), Hampton Fancher (screenplay)

Stars:

Owen Wilson, Sheryl Crow, Dwight Yoakam

1 win & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Owen Wilson	...	Vann
Sheryl Crow	...	Casper
Dwight Yoakam	...	Blair
Dennis Haysbert	...	Graves
Alex Warren	...	State Trooper
Mercedes Ruehl	...	Jane
Chloe Black	...	Karen - Age 18
Brian Cox	...	Doug
Eric Mabius	...	Gene
Larry Miller	...	Paul
Lois Gerace	...	Lois
Erik Holland	...	Coach
Danny 'Big Black' Rey	...	Arthur (as Daniel 'Big Black' Rey)
Janeane Garofalo	...	Ferrin
Axel Ovregaard	...	Joe La Moine

Storyline

A cold-blooded serial killer floats around the country and chooses his victims from people who complain about their lives and indicate a willingness to be killed. His murders are introduced with the killing of an asthmatic junkie. The killer settles into a seaside rooming house run by an unhappy married couple and waits for his next victims to unveil themselves. Dream cops plague his nights, while plotting his murders. Meanwhile, he also starts a relationship with a postal clerk.

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Plot Keywords:

murder | seaside | postal clerk | post office | drink | 

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Taglines:

When he's around nothing adds up

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and a scene of drug use

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 October 1999 (USA)

Also Known As:

Az idegen

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$40,292, 12 September 1999, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$368,808, 24 October 1999

Company Credits

Production Co:

Shooting Gallery,Fida Attieh Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

111 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

At 01:20:27, the Durwins are watching the news on their television set when the news anchor states: "A forty-nine-year-old unidentified man went berserk last night in a crowded downtown restaurant.". That exact statement is featured at the beginning of the song "What Time Is It?" on the Spin Doctors debut album "Pocket Full Of Kryptonite" (1991).

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Goofs

The license plates on Ferrin's Volkswagen change from one shot (2VIT788) to the next (5C49127).

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Quotes

[first lines]
Vann Siegert: [Vann walks into a bar, seeing a lady and a bartender] Do you have any pie?
Bartender: Nope.
Vann Siegert: Hmm.
Bartender: No pie. No pizza. No kitchen. Just booze.
Laurie Bloom: You got pickles.
[the three of them look at the pickle jar that's full of yellow juice and yellow pickles]

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Connections

Referenced in Late Show with David Letterman: Episode dated 23 September 1999 (1999)

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Soundtracks

Infinity
Written and Performed by Bryony Atkinson and Inara George
Courtesy of Shooting Gallery Records and Byrony Music (ASCAP) /
Inara Music (ASCAP)

User Reviews

You WILL be Talking for Hours!

There's a great trailer for this film that shows a couple on a date talking about a movie they just saw. It shows them in various locations and at each place, they're involved in animated discussion about various aspects of the film. Then suddenly, the sun is rising and the couple discovers they've been talking all night. When the woman realizes the hour, she takes off in a mad rush. She is late for work. When she arrives, she finds a couple of people floating face down in a pool. They are dead. She is a lifeguard. The tag line for the trailer says something along the lines of "The Minus Man, it'll have you talking for hours." It's a clever trailer for an even more clever movie!!

Holy Hampton Fancher! This guy is amazing. He wrote the screenplay from a book by the same title. The script is so incredibly well written that it really DOES leave you talking for hours. Each character is so dimensional you could eat them like a multi-layered subway sandwich.

Owen Wilson does an amazing job playing the likeable Vann. So amazing in fact, that not only does he manage to melt everyone's heart in the town, the audience falls in love with him too. That characteristic is key in creating a believable, and deeply dimensional, disturbing character.

Brian Cox is also amazing as the masochistic, fatherly landlord.

Janeane Garafalo breaks out of her "I'm so unamused" role, to play a fairly carefree, almost naive small town girl.

Some people have commented that this film moves too slowly. In making it, Hampton Fancher said he wanted it to move like a lullaby. Well, that it does. And it is as sweetly sung a lullaby as I've ever heard. I cuddled up into my theatre seat and sat back and enjoyed every minute of it.

I could go on and on for hours and hours about the complexity and implications of this movie, but I won't so you can go and enjoy it yourself! Then email me. We could talk about it for hours.

A Must See. One of This Year's Best!!!