Although not a widely known film, this one is a must see as it contains such powerful drama, is intensely thought provoking and keeps you (the viewer) on the edge of your seat throughout.
It is the story of Bob Maconel (
Christian Slater) who is a very lonely middle aged man, stuck in an incredibly mundane job. He has no respect from his peers or his boss, and is on the verge of a breakdown. Bob fantasises about shooting his boss, and all the others at work that have mistreated him over the years. However, even though he has the loaded gun in his desk, he can’t quite bring himself to do the deed. He tells himself every day that the timing is not quite right, and puts it off until tomorrow.
What Bob doesn’t know is that the man in the next cubicle, by the name of Ralf Coleman is experiencing the exact same feelings, but has enough confidence to act. One day he stands up and shoots several people dead. One survives, Vanessa Parks (
Elisha Cuthbert), although to Coleman’s dismay she is one of the few in the office liked by everyone, including himself. He realises that he has shot her by accident, assuming she was someone else. Bob (still with his gun in his desk), shoots and kills the gunman, and instantly becomes a hero. Suddenly, the press are clambering to get his story, and he is given a promotion at work. His new title is “Vice President of Creative Thinking”. He is also given Vanessa’s big office with a window (which he has always wanted) and company car, as he is told that she wouldn’t be coming back to work.
At the insistence of his boss, Bob goes to visit Vanessa in the hospital, only to discover that she is paralysed from the neck down, with little chance of recovery. At first she is simply angry to be alive, and then comes up with a plan. As she knows Bob to be a compassionate man, and she has no one else, she asks him to help her commit suicide. As far as she is concerned, her life is already over, and she wants Bob to help her finish what Coleman started. Bob reluctantly agrees, and on her release from hospital, they go for a meal together, and decide to spend some time doing things they had never done before. Until that is, she is ready to die…
While this may sound like a tragic and even depressing story, there is so much more to it than this. There are so many twists and turns in this story, and you as a viewer feel so much for the main characters, Bob in particular, as his soul is laid bare. It is also amazingly well acted, with such well defined and complex characters, you begin to yearn for a happy ending. However, each glimmer of hope for this is dashed with the introduction of yet another plot twist.
Fans of Christian Slater’s work may expect him to play the sexy male lead in this film as usual, however this is not the case. For this film he was given a complete change of image. He had bad teeth, ugly glasses and receding hair. In fact he shaved (and even plucked out) his own hair to give the impression that he was balding for the role. His performance is probably the best he has ever done, and he totally became Bob Maconel, proving just how talented he really is as an actor. This film has inspired me to watch more of his movies, although it’s hard to believe that this particular performance can be topped.
In short, if you appreciate a good drama, you must see this film. I’ve heard it to be similar in some ways to “Falling Down” (another on my mental list to watch)., and is such an emotional rollercoaster to watch. You’ll probably need a lie down to recover afterwards!
