I have never seen the 1971 version of Willard, not have I read the book, The Ratman Notebooks, but I can't imagine any of them being any better than this version, starring the amazing-as-always Crispin Glover! This movie is perfect in every aspect.
It is about a lonely, sad, and extremely shy man who is teased and put down by most of the people that surround him including his mother, whom he takes care of and lives with, and his cruel, money grubbing boss. The character of Willard is so well performed by Crispin Glover that you feel as if Willard is a real person, standing right in front of you. His performance really brings Willards pain and longing right in your face with his twitches, the way he responds to anger, how he wants to say something but doesn't, and even by the way he walks.
So anyway, his mother hears rats in the basement and makes Willard investigate to get rid of them. He buys a mouse trap and he finds that a little white rat is stuck to it, fighting for it's little life. Willard is about to kill it, but he just doesn't have the heart. So he cleans it up and names it Socrates. He puts Socrates back with his family, but he goes back to Willard and they form a friendship that Willard had never had....ever.
Willard then realizes that the rats are pretty intelligent animals and that he can control them. He trains them and they all follow him faithfully, except for Ben, a big rat. He uses them to get revenge on the people who had made his "wasted" life a living Hell.
The ending is interesting and leaves an opening for a sequel, which Crispin Glover said that he'd love to do.....so let's keep hoping!
It is about a lonely, sad, and extremely shy man who is teased and put down by most of the people that surround him including his mother, whom he takes care of and lives with, and his cruel, money grubbing boss. The character of Willard is so well performed by Crispin Glover that you feel as if Willard is a real person, standing right in front of you. His performance really brings Willards pain and longing right in your face with his twitches, the way he responds to anger, how he wants to say something but doesn't, and even by the way he walks.
So anyway, his mother hears rats in the basement and makes Willard investigate to get rid of them. He buys a mouse trap and he finds that a little white rat is stuck to it, fighting for it's little life. Willard is about to kill it, but he just doesn't have the heart. So he cleans it up and names it Socrates. He puts Socrates back with his family, but he goes back to Willard and they form a friendship that Willard had never had....ever.
Willard then realizes that the rats are pretty intelligent animals and that he can control them. He trains them and they all follow him faithfully, except for Ben, a big rat. He uses them to get revenge on the people who had made his "wasted" life a living Hell.
The ending is interesting and leaves an opening for a sequel, which Crispin Glover said that he'd love to do.....so let's keep hoping!
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