Main Cast: Owen Wilson, Brian Cox, Mercedes Ruehl, Janeane Garofalo, Dwight Yoakam
Release Year: 1999
Country: US
Run Time: 115 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
Notable as the directorial debut of Blade Runner co-scripter Hampton Fancher, this darkly comic thriller stars affable Owen Wilson as Vann Siegert, a different brand of serial killer: one who actually believes he's doing his deeply depressed victims a service of mercy. Wandering up the West Coast, Vann chooses victims from a parade of colorful social misfits -- including a haggard junkie (singer Sheryl Crow) whose pain he ends with a nip from his flask of poison amaretto -- and expounds on his motives with a pocket tape recorder (a drawling monologue that serves as the film's narrative voice-over). A brief layover in Owensville eventually finds Vann in the company of quarreling middle-aged couple Doug and Jane (Brian Cox and Mercedes Ruehl), who grow fond of the young drifter's amiable demeanor and take him on as a boarder. After landing a job at the local post office, Vann catches the eye of co-worker Ferrin (Janeane Garofalo), and a tentative romance blossoms -- but even love can't distract Vann from his crusade to terminate people's unhappiness: "They come to me like moths, because I shine," he explains. Though not the complex psychological game it purports to be, The Minus Man is an intriguing character study -- imagine a kindler, gentler version of Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer -- with some clever twists and fine performances, including a touching portrayal from the usually acerbic Garofalo. Geared more to the art-movie crowd than to fans of Hitchcockian thrills, this film opened to raves at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
Austin Gorg - Art Director, Mary Vernieu - Associate Producer, Mary Vernieu - Casting, Anne McCarthy - Casting, Kimberly Adams-Galligan - Costume Designer, William Paul Clark - First Assistant Director, Hampton Fancher - Director, Todd Ramsay - Editor, Larry Meistrich - Executive Producer, Keith Abell - Executive Producer, Stephen Carlis - Executive Producer, Joseph DiMartino - Executive Producer, Marco Beltrami - Composer (Music Score), Barry Cole - Musical Direction/Supervision, Christopher Covert - Musical Direction/Supervision, Andrew Laws - Production Designer, Bobby Bukowski - Cinematographer, David L. Bushell - Producer, Fida Attieh - Producer, Thomas Brandau - Sound/Sound Designer, Hampton Fancher - Screenwriter, Lew McCreary - Book Author
The movie centers on a serial killer, Vann (Owen Wilson), who picks victims who seem to be unhappy with their lives, the first example being a drug addict with asthma (Sheryl Crow, in her first film appearance). Vann settles into a small seaside town with a job delivering mail, looking for his next victim while living with a married couple (Brian Cox and Mercedes Ruehl). He is pursued by a woman in town (Janeane Garofalo) and tormented by hallucinations of being pursued by a pair of detectives (Dwight Yoakam and Dennis Haysbert).
The Minus Man is notable for being one of the only films to feature promotional materials focusing on the film's ability to spark discussion among audience members. In addition to the tagline "Don't see it alone. Unless you like talking to yourself," the main trailer for the film showed a couple leaving a theater showing the film. They discuss the movie and moral issues raised by it.
