Customer Reviews

The Job

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

While searching for Ron Perlman flicks, this reviewer stumbled on 2009's "The Job." Being a sucker for films of possibly dubious merit (especially when priced cheaply through one of Amazon's third parties), imagine the surprise of being treated to one of the bigger sleeper films in recent memory!

If you have a fondness for dead-pan black comedy on a modest budget, this one is definitely worth a look. This reviewer double-checked the film credits to make sure "The Job" wasn't some unbilled Coen Brothers masterpiece. You know: low-budget, early-years originality, perhaps even while still in film school or whatever it is aspiring film directors do. Do, that is, BEFORE succumbing to that great Hollywood abyss of mediocrity which kills originality on the altar of megabuck remakes, endless rehashes and mindless sequels because it is collectively incapable of anything else.

This reviewer cannot escape the thought that films like "Miller's Crossing, "Barton Fink" and "The Hudsucker Proxy" might have influenced this film's genesis, albeit those films had considerably bigger budgets. Understand that the plot here is quite different than any of the aforementioned and is in no sense derivative. Of that plot, let it be said that this film reinforces the moral that, even if desperate for work, it is probably a good idea to know a little something about the nature and requirements of a prospective job before you accept it sight-unseen from bizarrely quirky employers who are complete strangers!

Directed by Shem Bitterman and based on his 1998 stage play, "The Job" is a clear testament that talent, even sans big budgets, can still produce really good films. Mr. Bitterman's biography is quite elusive though he has been making films since at least 1994, directing plays likely longer than that. In my opinion this film suffers principally from uneven, sporadic pacing; perhaps 'director inexperience,' though in light of the above that is questionable. But while moving much too slowly in spots, "The Job" is next to impossible to stop thinking about afterwards! It's been a long time since this reviewer was able to enjoy anything like its low-key, blackest-of-black comedy played out so simply yet with such brilliant and inspired directorial flourishes. As a friend said after viewing, it makes one want to see the original stage play. If black comedies are your thing, then you'd feel right at home with this gem, a real laugh-out-loud 'killer' in the very best tradition. If you are not so inclined, you should probably pass this one by.

English Closed Captioned but ONLY SPANISH subtitles!

There was nothing about this movie that I enjoyed. I guess I don't appreciate what a dark comedy entails or is supposed to be, cause I found it nothing but boring and stupid.

This is a really great black comedy (just to be clear, the genre is from from the French, 1935: humour noir). Though it's paced like a thriller, it is actually more 'comedy' than 'black.' And for me, it just plain works: the only time I wasn't grinning, I was laughing. But like all black comedies, the grins are what you came for, not belly laughs.

For some reason, THE JOB reminds me a little of the late, great Paul Bartel. I think the first "indie" movie I ever saw, and certainly the first humour noir, was Bartel's 1982 cult masterpiece, "Eating Raoul." (And that was in, uhhh, 1982.) Even if THE JOB is a bit less over-the-top, I can easily imagine Bartel making this flick, or perhaps appearing in it as one of his many, many droll cameos in other indie director's films.

There's almost nothing I can say about the plot without spoiling something, so I won't. The actors are all good, especially Ron Perlman -- he's great here, a cross between Tom Waits and Sid Haig (and that's a big complement, not that I would expect anything less from Perlman).

Let me be clear: there is very little violence, blood, sex or even action in this movie. Even the bad guys are totally tongue-in-cheek. But if you're in the mood for some big grins, and more whimsy than action, then kick back with THE JOB. And don't blame me if you get a headache from wearing a stupid grin for an hour or two.