Day 223 of the challenge! I was fortunate enough to be at the U.S premiere of The Man Who Killed Hitler and Then The Bigfoot, and was blown away by how powerful it is!
Liked:
With a title like that, I don't think anyone expected The Man to be a layered character study about a damaged vetran in his golden years, who's haunted by the choices of his life and therefore unable to let himself heal. The Man explores many other aspects of damaged individuals, from feeling that none of your choices ultimately mattered, the crumbling depression that comes with loneliness, to the psychological effects of being an unsung hero/legend (a great observation someone asked about at the Q/A after the film screening).
Sam Elliott. What can I say about Sam Elliott that hasn't already been said? The Man in the title, Sam gives a nuanced performance to be remembered. Every haunted stare, weary step, bit of gritty and knowing dialogue, perfect! The Man ties his small role in The Big Lebowski as my favorite.
Great genre-crossing. We get a fun spy thriller in the World War II scenes and some outrageous b-movie monster mayhem in the Bigfoot scenes.
I love the few moments of self awareness The Man sprinkles in here and there. It's a serious movie that remembers to have some fun (and it goes CRAZY once Bigfoot shows up).
Didn't like:
The placement of some of the flashbacks seemed off to me. Can't help but feel it affected the pacing at some points. It's minimal though.
The Bigfoot section of the film (as fun as it is) feels like a totally different movie. In other words, didn't gel well with the rest of the movie. Still fun though for sure.