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Yawn. Poorly Filmed Snooze Fest.

Powerful

Must See Movie...

Excellent, smart action film.

Al Pacino plays an elderly locksmith in a small Texas town, living alone with his sick cat and writing romantic letters to a loved one he lost years ago, who begins a new friendship with bank teller Holly Hunter. Jittery, downbeat, occasionally somewhat surreal character portrait begins interestingly enough, but soon drops the ball. Director David Gordon Green and screenwriter Paul Brad Logan don't give the protagonist enough to do; he gambles, he works, he eats alone (where the other restaurant patrons appear to stare at him), he visits his wealthy "son of a prick" son...all the while the camera circling him, questioningly (the camera-work is busier than he is). As Manglehorn the locksmith, Pacino fills the bill, though at times he appears to have question marks on his face that show either an apprehension of the material or a lack of faith in it. *1/2 from ****

David Gordon Green was behind the helm for this "return to form" for Pacino (I'm not sure he ever lost his form, as much as, being stuck in unflattering films he attempted to keep alive ("88 Minutes" or "Righteous Kill" or "Jack and Jill" come to mind) by sheer will. He stars as a lock and key business owner (he does the opening cars and doors, and fixing up keys for folks himself, driving a van with his name in distinctive name in print pimping his small business) named Manglehorn, still pining for lost love (someone named Clara, who has perhaps become more of a myth than real person), and encountering potential romance (with an excellent Holly Hunter) with a bank teller. Manglehorn's relationship with his investor son, Jacob (Chris Messina) is strained to say the least. And his beloved white cat, Fannie, needs surgery after swallowing a key (talk about the irony!). What else exists is kind of an everyday mundane life that seems to go on, day in and day out, without much excitement. It could all change, perhaps, if he could just escape this obsessive fantasy about Clara, and realize just what is missing. Hunter's scene in a Golden Coral / Ryan's type restaurant, trying to make small talk and get to know Manglehorn is as good a piece of acting work as you will see all of 2015. When he drones on about Clara, how special she is, and his past experiences with her (as if Clara were some sort of mystical siren written in Greek folklore) it ruins the here-and-now of two lonelyhearts, detonating the chemistry (it doesn't help that Manglehorn demeans her by pretty much saying no one could equal Clara's qualities, and talking about how beets give him diarrhea!) that had potential for something quite magnetic. Her face going from enchantment and the idea of a promising relationship gradually deteriorating into disappointment, insult, and ultimately hurt, Hunter ably conveys the offensive nature of Manglehorn's comments about a woman who no longer exists in his life while sitting and eating at a table under this woman who could replace her.I was a bit indifferent to the film overall, because Manglehorn is often his own worst enemy. People come in and out of his life, and he fails to offer them a strong reason to embrace him. Manglehorn does have this natural charm about him that seems to ingratiate positively with others, but then he kind of retreats into his own head, removing the reality around him in favor of devotion to a woman and what his thoughts and feelings are for her. Hunter's conversations with him, for instance, never quite go anywhere and I wondered to myself why she'd even try. His interest seems distracted while hers is focused attentively on him. Only at the very end, when he finally faces the Clara illusion and shatters it by removing all reminders of her from his home, does reality around him start to gain his attention. He mumbles to himself, and Gordon Green carries us right into Manglehorn's lost face, and the noise of his thoughts are made known to us. His animosity with Jacob is particularly established…their dialogue is too often of the "father is disappointed in his successful son's affluent lifestyle, focus on the business and money" variety. It's an act that gets a bit tiring. You just don't see Manglehorn positing any affection, with this cold fish response seemingly all he can give.Highlights include Manglehorn walking around with his cat right after a massive vehicular pile-up, Manglehorn realizing that a kid he thought was making a decent living for himself (abrasive film director Harmony Korine, quite an unflappably Chatty Cathy who rarely shuts the f--- up; I'm glad the film doesn't spend too much time with this jerk) is operating a whorehouse under the disguise of a massage parlor, and this A cappella number in a bank where a man emerges singing as those inside the building wonder what is going on (he's singing to a teller he's in love with; the teller begins singing along with him!). I wish the dialogue and conversations between characters had more depth compared to the performances. Still it is nice to see Pacino in parts like this again. The Texas locations are rich in natural flavor (the key store, clubs, local establishments, and bank carry an authenticity to them that is appreciated in order for us to accept the characters as relatable to us who do live in the real world).

Unfortunately, I found this to be a real mess of a movie. Normally, anything with Al Pacino in it I would look forward to seeing, but even his great talent can't save this one, in my opinion.Here, he portrays Manglehorn, a very strange character indeed, who owns a lock and key shop in a small Texas town. He's so obsessed with a long lost love, that even after years have passed he's still sending her letters, only to have them returned each time marked "Return to Sender".Manglehorn is also prone to temper tantrums, has a strained relationship with his son (Chris Mssina), and in reality is only close to his beloved cat Fannie. Even when the local bank teller, played by the very talented Holly Hunter, tries to get closer to him, things go "south" quickly.Overall, this was quite the disappointment from the accomplished director David Gordon Green, whose recent movies "Joe" and "Prince Avalanche" I liked very much, with a first time screenwriter Paul Logan handling the script. I don't mind bizarre films, but this one never clicked for me, and the 180 at the end of the movie was just too little too late.

"I didn't mean to scare you last night. But what am I gonna do, sometimes I get crazy." A.J. Manglehorn (Pacino) is a locksmith who is in love with a woman who he lost a few years ago. He spends his days eating at the same places, doing the same things and caring for his cat. When he meets Dawn (Hunter) he thinks he found someone he has something in common with, she thinks it is much more. Now Manglehorn is forced to reexamine his life and decide what he truly wants to be. I am a huge Pacino fan and was looking forward to watching this one. I was not surprised at how great his acting was. He played someone along the lines of his role in People I Know, someone who is barely holding it together and someone that makes you wonder if he is a good guy or not. The reason I talk about that is because he is the reason to watch this. The movie is good, but a little too over produced. There are a ton of cuts and the movie always seems to be moving. It doesn't really fit the quiet, reserved role that Pacino plays. It's hard to explain unless you watch this. Overall, another great performance by Pacino that seems not to mesh with the pace and feel of the movie. It almost feels like the director tried to prove something, rather than let the acting and writing speak for itself. I give this a B-.