Review of Willard (2003) by Dirigiblepulp — 11 Dec 2016
Crispin Glover was born for this role, it is what it is. It has lots of fun, provides layer of social class commentary and has maybe the greatest performance by a movie animal in history -- Ben, the fat rat, the bad rat, the poor rat who just wants a friend rat.
It's amazing how you go from feeling bad for Willard, to despising him, fearing him and then back again. Willard is picked on by his boss, and his mother, and he in turn picks on Ben (while favoring Socrates) who in turn leads a revolt against Willard who is leading a revolt against his boss. I find it hard to use the word complex when describing a killer rats movie, but that's just what this is. Willard is no hero--he's not just a sad sack the world hates and the.
Audience is asked to feel sorry for--he's flesh and blood and he perpetuates all the things he hates and you can simultaneously root for him and against him. It's incredible how poorly he receives the little bit of companionship he gets from the new girl in the office, as a result of his lingering fears of being rejected and picked on by females his whole life.
There's only one gratuitous CGI rats scene, the rest is all too real. Socrates's death is one for the ages. I want more Glover in everything.
This review of Willard (2003) was written by Dirigiblepulp on 11 Dec 2016.
Willard has generally received mixed reviews.
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