"Manglehorn" includes some of the most egregious examples of jiggly-cam footage in recent memory. There is definitely something wrong when the temblor scene is one of the steadiest scenes in the film. Theaters should sell Dramamine along with the popcorn and put motion sickness bags in the seat pouches.
The movie has a lot of symbolism, much of it a bit spot-on, so it is possible that the jiggly- cam shots are intended to represent the inner chaos in Manglehorn's life. Most of the final shots are marginally steadier than the rest of the film.
Pacino plays a lonely, heartbroken locksmith who has locked his pain and other emotions away and "swallowed the key." Like his clients, he needs somebody to free him to gain access to his emotions. Like the mime, he's unable to express himself verbally and wants to be free to float away like the balloons that belong in the sky or on the rickety sailboat that will unlikely ever float again. Despite his emotional distance, irascibility and propensity for telling the most inappropriate stories imaginable at the worst times possible, everybody loves him, remembers his past glory days and finds comfort in the steady routine into which he retreats. After numerous attempts by others to break through his emotional armor, his personal locksmith presents herself in the form of a comely and deliberately age- appropriate bank teller who initially terrifies but ultimately intrigues him.
The restaurant scene between Pacino and Hunter is the best in the movie and would be a good scene if it didn't feel as if the camera had been mounted on a bungee cord and allowed to bounce and swing around the set without direction or purpose.
The movie succeeds in presenting a character who is sympathetic despite himself. We feel that Manglehorn and aptly-yclept Dawn belong together. The climatic synthesis and catharsis is visualized through a series of symbolically-laden actions, but the intellectual and emotional process that culminates in this flurry of activity isn't really clear. It feels like observing a math student who has presented the correct solution to a complex problem, but hasn't shown his steps, so only gets half credit. The final scene feels like a deus ex machina resolution with another deus ex machina dénouement that is amusing and highly symbolic but shatters the audience's willful suspension of disbelief.
The movie has a lot of symbolism, much of it a bit spot-on, so it is possible that the jiggly- cam shots are intended to represent the inner chaos in Manglehorn's life. Most of the final shots are marginally steadier than the rest of the film.
Pacino plays a lonely, heartbroken locksmith who has locked his pain and other emotions away and "swallowed the key." Like his clients, he needs somebody to free him to gain access to his emotions. Like the mime, he's unable to express himself verbally and wants to be free to float away like the balloons that belong in the sky or on the rickety sailboat that will unlikely ever float again. Despite his emotional distance, irascibility and propensity for telling the most inappropriate stories imaginable at the worst times possible, everybody loves him, remembers his past glory days and finds comfort in the steady routine into which he retreats. After numerous attempts by others to break through his emotional armor, his personal locksmith presents herself in the form of a comely and deliberately age- appropriate bank teller who initially terrifies but ultimately intrigues him.
The restaurant scene between Pacino and Hunter is the best in the movie and would be a good scene if it didn't feel as if the camera had been mounted on a bungee cord and allowed to bounce and swing around the set without direction or purpose.
The movie succeeds in presenting a character who is sympathetic despite himself. We feel that Manglehorn and aptly-yclept Dawn belong together. The climatic synthesis and catharsis is visualized through a series of symbolically-laden actions, but the intellectual and emotional process that culminates in this flurry of activity isn't really clear. It feels like observing a math student who has presented the correct solution to a complex problem, but hasn't shown his steps, so only gets half credit. The final scene feels like a deus ex machina resolution with another deus ex machina dénouement that is amusing and highly symbolic but shatters the audience's willful suspension of disbelief.