As a fan of films set in the 70s (well, most, anyway) and seeing Sean Penn in the lead, I was interested in this film from the get-go. The story follows several months in the life of one Samuel Bicke (Penn), as his world slowly falls apart and he ends up aiming his anger and grief at the President.
While Bicke's slow dissolution is the main thread, there's also some commentary on seventies America that is intended to speak to today's situation. Bicke is presented as an honest man who is frustrated by society's turn for the worse, and who is both unwilling and unable to transform himself into what he calls a 'liar' someone who will say anything to get money. This leads to tensions on his job, tensions with his ex-wife (Naomi Watts), and even prickly disagreements with his best friend (an extended cameo by Don Cheadle).
The problem is, Penn never makes Bicke sympathetic. Early complaints about his job that his co-workers lie, that his boss wants him to shave off his mustache so he seems more family-oriented well, while they don't come off as wrong, they do come off as whiny. Bicke is understandably frustrated by the changing times of the seventies, and he rails that the American dream is dying; but we see early on, as do the other characters in the movie, that Bicke himself is part of the problem. He's unwilling to bend or flex at all. Essentially he lives in a fantasy world that, while preferable to the crappy, gritty real one, ends up putting him at odds with nearly everyone. I was reminded of Michael Douglas' character in Falling Down, a guy who snaps and takes matters into his own hands, but Penn fails even to create that spark of anger and vengeance. Bicke comes off as just an unhappy, lonely guy, and it takes forever for him to turn the emotional corner to do something about it; most of the movie is watching a basically decent shmuck suffer, and that's not a hell of a lot of fun.
The ending is tight and suspenseful, and interwoven nicely with news stories about the event (which apparently was real); and while Penn gives a consistent performance, I can't really say it's enjoyable. The film runs only 95 minutes but it felt more like two and a half hours. In theory an interesting character study, you could give this one a pass and not miss much.
While Bicke's slow dissolution is the main thread, there's also some commentary on seventies America that is intended to speak to today's situation. Bicke is presented as an honest man who is frustrated by society's turn for the worse, and who is both unwilling and unable to transform himself into what he calls a 'liar' someone who will say anything to get money. This leads to tensions on his job, tensions with his ex-wife (Naomi Watts), and even prickly disagreements with his best friend (an extended cameo by Don Cheadle).
The problem is, Penn never makes Bicke sympathetic. Early complaints about his job that his co-workers lie, that his boss wants him to shave off his mustache so he seems more family-oriented well, while they don't come off as wrong, they do come off as whiny. Bicke is understandably frustrated by the changing times of the seventies, and he rails that the American dream is dying; but we see early on, as do the other characters in the movie, that Bicke himself is part of the problem. He's unwilling to bend or flex at all. Essentially he lives in a fantasy world that, while preferable to the crappy, gritty real one, ends up putting him at odds with nearly everyone. I was reminded of Michael Douglas' character in Falling Down, a guy who snaps and takes matters into his own hands, but Penn fails even to create that spark of anger and vengeance. Bicke comes off as just an unhappy, lonely guy, and it takes forever for him to turn the emotional corner to do something about it; most of the movie is watching a basically decent shmuck suffer, and that's not a hell of a lot of fun.
The ending is tight and suspenseful, and interwoven nicely with news stories about the event (which apparently was real); and while Penn gives a consistent performance, I can't really say it's enjoyable. The film runs only 95 minutes but it felt more like two and a half hours. In theory an interesting character study, you could give this one a pass and not miss much.