Man in the Chair (2007)

Highly Overrated But Still Good

Fresh and Exciting

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

Men in the chair is definitely not average film! Dialogs, assorted with Nietzsches bywords constitute wonderful film, with excellent performance!Christopher Plummer makes a step forward, improves film to higher level, with character Flash Madden, and Michael Angarano follows him right through! Emmet Walsh not more than usually, brings him self to the character and fulfil the perfect trio!This easy film, in time of special effects and super heroes, is a master piece, an exception worth every minute!Camera shows different altitudes, and moves, it completes the act and ambiance..Facile and rewarding! 10/10

I'd heard some good things about this film but not from trusted sources and having seen it i can't agree. Man in the Chair is a very average film. It is not terrible compelling to watch and is very obvious in its plotting. The dialogue is also often laughably bad and the awful caricature performance it features representing Orson Welles is insulting both to Mr Welles and to the viewer's intelligence.It sets the tone for narrative drag immediately with an extended clip (first heard off screen and then shown) clip from Howard Hawks' superb comedy His Girl Friday, which serves no real purpose in the story other than to establish 'Flash' Madden goes to see old movies! Great insight! A piece of info that is perfectly well introduced with a later seen at the same theatre showing Touch Of Evil which serves a narrative purpose both in its introduction of the two lead characters to each other; their similar tastes; and the link to Welles whom 'Flash' has worked with on Citizen Kane. The use of His Girl Friday however is entirely unnecessary and too lengthy; and as with most of the other films it references, only highlights the fact that the writer can recognise a variety of well-written great films - making it the more perplexing that he has no ear for how staged and hammy his dialogue is.Plummer is solid as 'Flash' but loses his way here and there in stereotype and overplaying - a fault of the script not his, but an actor of his skill should have been able to instruct the director/writer better on how to play it. Given how extraordinary Plummer can be - just watch his Mike Wallace in The Insider - i expected better. Michael Angarano is fine but is again saddled with a poorly written role that makes him a rebel that he never seems and then connects him to 'Flash' in the most tenuous way.M Emmet Walsh however is marvellous in a supporting role and while i'm sure the average standard of the film and the grandstanding of Plummer in the lead will cause him to be overlooked it would be wonderful and justified if this great character actor saw a supporting actor nod at the Oscars.Overall the film is inoffensive and has a noble heart and message but the script is lacking in substance and drive. A Sunday afternoon on the TV type of watch.

Man in The Chair is a 10 out of 10. Christopher Plummer delivers a leading Oscar worthy performance - filled with soul, depth and abundant range. A film that deals as much about respecting elders as it does about respecting the making of films and never forgetting those who help you at the start. Subjects that are often overlooked and "thrown away" or simply not interesting to younger audiences. This is a beautiful 9 year journey of a film. Michael Schroeder wrote and directed this gem from the heart, infusing uncovered social issues with intricate feelings of mentorship. This is simply put, the best film I have seen this year! The cast and crew deliver and the cinematography is uniquely soulful. And a (supporting) Oscar worthy performance by M. Emmet Walsh. WOW!

This is an unfortunate film. One of its biggest problems is its lack of direction. Many of Schroeder's ideas are only half developed, and this lack of decisiveness shows. In a Q&A after the screening, Schroeder said that he did not want his film to be full of "Hollywood" clichés; unfortunately this is exactly what happens. As previously mentioned by my fellow critics, the hand-crank technique is used incorrectly and lends the film a music video tone. Add several non sequitur contrivances (e.g. the whole dog pound sequence(s) with its obvious use of stock footage, the way that Cameron receives funding for his film, the sabotage vignette, etc.) and you have a film that is chock full of holes. It also has a problem finding a true voice, which is something a film of this nature hinges on. It never sticks to one subject for long, and when it veers off in another direction, it fails to solidify into anything worthwhile. The one good thing it has going for it is Christopher Plummer. His performance is admirable in the way that he carefully delivers fairly pedantic dialogue. Although many characters were one-dimensional, the cast members did an adequate job. In brief, this is a forgettable film that will wow many people with its "heart." However, if you look more closely, you will see that it is shallow and mediocre at best.