He Was a Quiet Man (2007)

An office worker inadvertently becomes a hero after he saves a woman's life.

Director:

Frank A. Cappello

Writer:

Frank A. Cappello (as Frank Cappello)

Stars:

Christian Slater, Elisha Cuthbert, William H. Macy

2 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Michael DeLuise	...	Detective Sorenson
Christian Slater	...	Bob Maconel
Jamison Jones	...	Scott Harper
Anzu Lawson	...	Nancy Felt
John Gulager	...	Goldie / Maurice Gregory
Elisha Cuthbert	...	Venessa Parks
K.C. Ramsey	...	Jackson
Sascha Knopf	...	Paula Metzler
David Wells	...	Ralf Coleman
Frankie Thorn	...	Jessica Light (as Frankie Lou Thorn)
Randolph Mantooth	...	Dr. Willis
Sewell Whitney	...	Derrick Miles
Lisa Arianna	...	ADD Assistant
Livia Treviño	...	Shelby's Secretary (as Levia Trevino)
William H. Macy	...	Gene Shelby

Storyline

A troubled loner, Bob Maconel, imagines blowing up the tower in Los Angeles where he works. He takes a revolver to his office intent on killing colleagues, and then himself. At home, he holds conversations with his fish, who encourage him to do it. His supervisor picks on him. As he's screwing his courage to the sticking place, he drops a bullet; while on the floor looking for it, another colleague does exactly what Bob has been planning. Bob emerges a hero and the one colleague he likes, a woman with a bright smile, is severely wounded. Can Bob help her through despair and find himself and joy in life? Or, as everyone says, is this impossible for a man like him?

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Plot Keywords:

loner | loneliness | going postal | alter ego | suicide | 

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Taglines:

A daily routine that changes from one moment to another.

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Genres:

Drama | Romance | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

MySpace site Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 December 2007 (UK)

Also Known As:

A Fúria

Filming Locations:

Burbank, California, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$2,431, 30 November 2007, Limited Release

Company Credits

Production Co:

Quiet Man Productions,Neo Art & Logic

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to the director's commentary on the DVD the entire movie was shot in only 21 days.

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Goofs

The cartridges that Bob loads into his revolver are real, but the primers are indented, indicating that the rounds have already been fired.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Bob Maconel: It was easier in the past. A man knew what it was to be a man. He stood up to things that were wrong, and had the right to do so. Were expected to do so. And the way you lived, the training you put yourself through, prepared you for the inevitable confrontations. Ones that could end in dismemberment or even death. Then something happened. We passed laws of decency, lawyers became our shepherds. And what was once a fairly easy thing to understand, became muddled in a bureaucracy of ...
[...]

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Crazy Credits

A still photo of a child appears in the Very Special Thanks section.

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Connections

Referenced in Pulse 3 (2008)

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Soundtracks

Here For You
Written by Robert Cosio
Performed by Robert Cosio
Produced by Robert Cosio
Courtesy of R World Music (ASCAP) 2007

User Reviews

A dark tale of an ignored soul

Human perceive things in most wonderfully creative and erogenous ways. That's why a flawed art can be just as effective, if not more, in sending your conscious through a range of emotions so fast and furious that reason have no chance in hell to ever catch up. This film is one of those flawed art that through its deranged and surreal vision and narratives, you live the love and pain of Bob Maconel, a quiet man who was not so quiet within.

The presentation is often cartoonish and stereotypical, yet the emotion that was conveyed are often bloody raw to a fault that you just can't simply escape. Bob is a troubled man who's life is as boring as it is tormenting. We don't know his past and how he became what he is. The sad truth is that the only colorful and interesting thing in his life is his homicidal and suicidal anguish, the held up energy and intensity that dramatically contrasted his drab and introverted appearance, until one day, he let it all loose, in a sort of unexpected way.

In a society full of able thinkers and feelers competing for limited opportunities, there are those who express in terms, those who express against the terms and those who are simply ignored. Bob is an ignored soul. But the trouble is, being ignored doesn't diminish his ability to think and feel. Bob gave us a chance to explore the mind of those who's life are often invisible until they made the front page news, with increasingly frequent occurrence in today's society. Only here, we are not only presented with the dark and ugly side of it, but also the vulnerably romantic side as well. Through all of its oddity and obscurity, we get a glimpse of its human quality, and were left scarred by its sheer beauty.

I can only describe the style of directing as creative honesty, as honesty is in such short supply in today's media. What was expressed outwardly is exaggerated in order to stay true with what locks inside a person's mind. For this alone, I was over joyed by the experience.

Go see it, with a understanding mind and compassionate soul. Let the range of emotion washes over you, be it pity or wonderment, don't haste to judge. Just let it haunt you for a while.