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Bob Maconel (Christian Slater) hates his job. He hates his pompous manager. He hates his cubicle. He hates all the brown-nosers and the useless drones who inhabit the cubicles around him. The only thing that makes it almost worthwhile is Vanessa (Elisha Cuthbert), the most beautiful woman in the office—a woman whose smile can brighten up a whole room.
But, still…Bob hates his job. That’s why he dreams of detonating the whole building while he eats his lunch. It’s why he keeps a gun in his desk drawer—and he reloads it each day, trying to find the courage to use it.
One day, though, someone else beats him to it. Some other guy who hates his job pulls out a gun and starts shooting. Bob manages to take down the shooter and save Vanessa’s life—and, suddenly, he’s a hero. But even with the promotion…and the admiration of his coworkers…and the friendship (and possibly love) of a beautiful woman, Bob still feels like it’s all too good to be true.
Though Slater’s balding, bespectacled, and quietly disgruntled Bob may draw the obvious comparisons to Milton from Office Space, He Was a Quiet Man is much darker and much more ominous than Mike Judge’s 1999 cube-dweller comedy. Bob is more than just a goofy office worker who’s been overlooked too many times. He really is unstable—and you can feel that it’s only a matter of time until something causes him to snap. He’s a fascinating character, and Slater plays him well: darkly comical and even loveable at times—yet quietly eerie. Throughout the entire movie, he’ll make you feel just a little bit uneasy. And even in the movie’s brighter, funnier moments, when you start to wonder if Bob might finally be able to find happiness, you’ll still find yourself waiting for that last straw—bracing yourself for that final explosion.
Along with a fascinating character and a couple of surprising performances by both Slater and Cuthbert, however, He Was a Quiet Man also tells a captivating story. Writer/director Frank Cappello’s surreal touches make it feel as though you’re seeing the whole thing from a place in Bob’s confused and often paranoid mind. You’ll never really know what’s coming next—and when it’s all over, it’ll leave you just a little bit stunned.
He Was a Quiet Man is a dark and unusual film that’s just as funny as it is unsettling. After watching it, you’ll see that quiet guy in your office in a whole new light.
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