Review of He Was a Quiet Man (2007) by Daniel P — 18 May 2009

Christian Slater leaves behind most of his usual eccentricities and eyebrow raising to give a pretty good, quite restrained 'uglified' performance in this bizarre mishmash of Falling Down and Clockwatchers.

An uncertain tone that leers uncomfortably between heartfelt drama, surrealism and black humor prevents He Was A Quiet Man from being entirely successful. In addition, the contrivance which sets the plot in motion is difficult to get past and the visual effects are so overblown that suspension of disbelief is a bit out of the question.

It is though, a film with some surprisingly moving and effective moments. Best of all is a pretty damn stunning performance from a cast against type Elisa Cuthbert, leaving her usual vanity behind and giving her all.

Previously having only seen her work as the vacuous Kim Bauer in 24 and in various plays on that character in redundant films, I was very impressed. She clearly has potential to be a great actor if she chooses her projects with care.