More than anything else, the movie
MANGLEHORN -- directed by
David Gordon Green, written by
Paul Logan and starring
Al Pacino -- is a heavy-duty character study. Not much happens, which will keep away those Pacino fans who demand action and bloodshed, via the kind of Al they know and love from
Scarface. Instead, the film is super quiet, slow-paced, and nicely poetic in its conception and execution. Pacino plays a small-town Texas locksmith who's been pining over a lost love for so long that he can't seem to break the spell of despair that hangs over him.
His fast-track, semi-sleazy "investment" type son (a fine
Chris Messina, above) and his maybe/sort of might-be girlfriend who works at the local bank (
Holly Hunter, below) make up most of the rest of the cast.
Pacino brings his savvy elder self to the proceedings, and he is, as usual these days (
The Humbling,
Danny Collins) very, very good. There is an "arc" here (you might even call it
finally-feel-good), but it's a slow one. Recommended for Pacino/Hunter/Messina and Green fans who appreciate "character" and small-town tales of real, "problemed" people, Manglehorn is a lot closer to arthouse than to mainstream.
From
IFC Films and running 97 minutes,
Manglehorn hits the streets on DVD and Blu-ray, today, Tuesday, October 6 -- for purchase or rental.
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