FilmSnobReviews

Title: Working Man
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Director: Robert Jury
Starring: Peter Gerety, Talia Shire, Billy Brown
Runtime: 1 hr 46 mins

What It Is: After working at the same place for close to his entire life Allery Parkes (Gerety) and everyone else he works with is being let go. When Allery continues to show up for works he inspires co-worker Walter (Brown) to rally around the ever loyal Allery. His wife Iola (Shire) is suspicious of the motive of his co-workers chief among them Walter. What are their reasons for rallying behind a man they previously ignored and to an extent ridiculed?

What We Think: This isn’t a very well told story. There are plot points that seemingly come from and out of nowhere. I won’t spoil the film by going into too much detail about what points, in particular, I was confounded by. That is what Twitter is for. Hit us up there if you see this. This is a film that does nothing spectacular but everything rather blase. There’s no hard-hitting action. No drama of major significance. The film strives in its simplicity and in its everyman hero trying to simply exist. There’s a certain beauty to that. Truly.

Our Grade: C-, A mediocre grade for a movie sadly plays to its sympathies far too much. There was a real potential for this to be good. Nonetheless, I can give a mild…very mild recommendation. If only to see Peter Gerety and Talia Shire as a married couple with great chemistry. The Jury on this out and the film isn’t well directed. Perhaps it’s a labor of love but if that’s the case it plays more like a slightly ignored wife or husband then a spouse of utter adoration. Thank you, Santa Barbara, but also no thank you. I’ve come to expect more out of them.