Session: Christmas Themed Creepiness, week 1
Movie: The Silent Partner (1978)
Directed by Daryl Duke
As always, there may be spoilers here. And the trailer may be NSFW and/or NSFL
Plot:
A mild-mannered bank teller realizes that the bank will be robbed, and figure out how to get most of the take. Hilarity ensues.
Background and Reaction:
This movie may have evoked the sharpest split reaction we've ever had. Joe, who has rarely rated anything below a 9, gave it a 3. I, on the other had, gave it a solid 9.
This schism can be attributed to two words -- "romantic comedy." I'm OK with a decent rom com, while Joe hates the things. And The Silent Partner seemed at times to be a romcom -- specifically a romcom with occasional diversions into violence and tension.
The rom-commy parts didn't really bother me. Maybe it was a bit slower and contained a bit less humor than When Harry Met Sally, but I did find myself caring about Miles and Julie, and wondering if they would end up together. But I can understand Joe's perspective as one who doesn't like romcoms.
Christopher Plummer Is incredible in this role. His steely, threatening gaze is the perfect contrast to Elliot Gould's everyman goofiness. And, even if you don't like the slow-moving sections, the tense scenes with Plummer are incredible. Joe, in giving this movie a 3 noted that it only got that much because of Christopher Plummer.
Ratings:
Joe: 3
Dave: 9.2 - 9.3
Sean: This movie transcends simple numerical ratings.
Scott: 5
Me: 9
Ethan: 7
Bechdel:
The Silent Partner passes the Bechdel test (barely)
Extras:
So, the day after we saw this movie, I was playing QuizGeek. One question I had showed a picture and asked who was the Canadian actor pictured. Had I gotten this question on Wednesday (i.e., before this class), I would have had to guess. But having seen the movie and done a little reading up on Christopher Plummer, I recognized him right away. Eat it, JimL451!
Marc:
ReplyDeleteThere is an additional consideration at work…
It is ABSOLUTELY TRUE that I despise “romcoms” – and I never hide that fact. Though there are very, Very, VERY (…Oh, and did I say very?) rare exceptions – such as certain ones staring James Cagney like “The Bride Came C.O.D.” and especially “The Strawberry Blonde”, but it takes an actor as incredible as Cagney to make the genre work for me.
Associating “romcoms” with the likes of Adam Sandler and others of his ilk (…or, is that “others of his ick"), does nothing but intensify that feeling.
So, consider the added demerits this film would receive from me in the context of a Horror/Sci-Fi/Mystery/Monster/Thriller/Giallo type of class… that I consider my “safe-space” from the likes of “romcoms”, “modern-dumbcoms” (represented by Jim Carrey and *his* ilk), and musicals in general (which illogically disrupt a story with song).
As with the Martial Arts films preceding it, it just went too far “out-of-genre” for my tastes, and didn’t belong in this setting. Hence, my very uncharacteristic rating of a “3” – and every inch of that “3” (numbers are comprised of inches, now?) is attributed to Christopher Plummer – whose great and menacing performance was completely undermined by his unnecessarily appearing in drag for the film’s climax!
…Eeesh!
Marc,
ReplyDeleteI see no romantic comedy at all in this film. The tone of the film is very dark, the humor is dark, I see attempts at romance that don't quite end well for people, but the romantic comedy end is lost to me completely. I guess it's all in the eye of the beholder.
Also, I'll say it again, the film was very much in the Hitchcock tradition. Even Roger Ebert said that, not that I'm a fan of critics. So yes, that qualifies it as class material. Same goes with the Martial Arts films, which bath in mysticism, the supernatural, often feature monsters or the undead, etc... they have a place in this class, if I had any question regarding that I wouldn't have shown them. Those films very much earned their month of screen time.
No romantic comedy in it at all?
DeleteThink about the subplot about Miles and Julie fumbling their way into a relationship. The clumsy flirtation. The date that he ruins. The tension -- she likes him, but doesn't want to get burned again. The dates with other people while they continue to have sexual tension between them. And at the end, they're together. With the money. Seems like a romcom to me.
Awww… How cute!
ReplyDeleteWe’re having our first spat! :-)