The Minus Man | | Cast : | Owen Wilson | | Director : | Hampton Fancher | | Studio : | Artisan Entertainment | | Format : | Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen, Dolby | | Released Date : | October 08, 1999 | | DVD Released Date : | February 26, 2002 | | Language : | English (Dubbed), English (Original Language), English (Subtitled) | | Audience Rating : | R (Restricted) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | July 14, 2005 | | Summary | Minus this movie! | Content
 | This is the worst damn movie ever. Please don't get it, if you see it in a video store, roll your eyes and keep walking. This film had no point at all. It is not like your typical suspense. Very dry, very flat. I was so bored, but the funny thing is this movie had a chance. This plot and the outline was good. He was a nice, descent looking guy, nobody would have thought he was a serial killer, who poisons his victims. And the end, what the hell? I would love for the writer of this foolishness, to explain to me about this nonsense. I don't mean to be overreacting, but it is that bad. If you saw it you would probably act worst. To me this movie doesn't exist anymore. It was the dumbest, no point at all movie ever. |
| Rating | | | Date | June 24, 2005 | | Summary | This one deserves 4.5 stars. Wonderful screen play. | Content
| Almost 5 stars. Almost. An engrossing indy film as any I've seen, we witness a seemingly harmless man, a man we find ourselves actually liking, kill off a handful of strangers without so much as a second thought. He is a serial killer, and his weapon of choice is poison. His activities are naturally alarming, and there is no explanation as to why he feels the intrinsic desire to kill certain people. He just kills them. No certain profile is needed. He kills business men and pretty doped-up women (Sheryl Crow). He wins them over with his innocence and strangely enough, it's not a contrived innocence. It's real. You get the impression that Wilson's character is truly just attempting to feel something, make something of his world that surrounds him with uneasy numbness.
Halfway through the film, our Minus Man befriends a family who rents him a room. He witnesses their domestic disputes with childlike fascination, particularly concerning the disappearance of their college-aged daughter, who the family says left home to find her own way - but leaves the viewer thinking otherwise - and finds himself in jeopardy when the man of the household finally has enough with his wife and....
Well, I don't want to spoil it. This is not an agenda film - like Monster - where you're supposed to empathize with the serial killer. It's merely a fictional story where we get to travel into the life of a man who's seemingly as normal and sincere as anyone we've ever known, with the beamy smile and courteous manner to boot, but deep down, has a desperate desire to kill at random. When he does kill, he doesn't seem to enjoy it very much. He just does it, unflinchingly does it.
Not a gory film by any stretch, you never really see anyone die - just the heavy insinuations. Only about a fifth of the film actually encompasses Wilson's dark side. The other 80% deals with him trying to be normal and the relationship he has with his host family. |
| Rating | | | Date | January 23, 2005 | | Summary | Wilson's finest work | Content
| Owen Wilson became one of my favorite actors with this performance. As he shares personal quotes and thoughts throughout the movie, it becomes apparent how character driven the film is. Wilson creates an atmosphere of chilling calmness and his odd chemistry with Janeane Gerafolo shows us how little he can relate to other people. I highly reccomend this movie to anyone who can appreciate a deep, dark, methodical movie. |
| Rating | | | Date | December 31, 2004 | | Summary | Great plot, dumb ending | Content
| I just got finished watching this DVD on my portable DVD player. I was impressed with the plot. I read the reviews and decided to watch it and I didnt fall asleep. It was quite interesting until the end. The ending sucked, all I can say.. Watch the movie yourself and you will see. |
| Rating | | | Date | March 27, 2004 | | Summary | IN SPITE OF EVERYTHING GOOD... | Content
| ...this is a disappointing movie. I found myself truly mesmerized by the first half of the movie, trying to figure out what Owen Wilson's character was motivated by; who were these two detectives (Dennis Haysbert, Dwight Yoakum) and why were they haunting him? What really was going on with the landlord's missing daughter? Why did Brian Cox off Mercedes Ruehl? What was the glib ending supposed to mean? Owen Wilson and Janeane Garafolo do fine jobs in their roles; Brian Cox as always is astounding. But why was Vann doing this? The movie answers no questions and ultimately that's why I find it hard to recommend it, in spite of its good points. |
|
