209. Nobody; movie review

 

 

NOBODY

Cert 15

92 mins

BBFC advice: Contains strong bloody violence, injury detail, language, threat, sex references

Lockdown was lifted last month but people still appear tentative about returning to the cinema.

That would be our observation after an early evening sojourn to Burton Cineworld to watch Ilya Naishuller's new film, ironically in the presence of next-to nobody.

Actually, seven people took in Bob Odenkirk hitting the mark as a retired special forces operative - hopefully, this will have increased over the weekend because the movie certainly deserves a much bigger audience.

Odenkirk plays Hutch Mansell - a man submerged by routine - same job, same run, same dreary relationship with his wife (Connie Nielsen) and same Wednesday failure to get the rubbish bin out on time.

And then he emerges from his slumber when two desperate young people break into his house.

In the eyes of his son (Gage Munroe) he is a coward for not slamming one of the burglars over the head with his golf club.

However, he doesn't know of his dad's past and that he is suppressing a deep desire to return to action.

And then his father snaps when it emerges that his daughter's beloved bracelet could have been taken by the raiders.

His rage is taken out on five hoodlums on a bus and one happens to be the brother of a Russian crime lord (Aleksey Serebryakov).

This act of extreme violence precipitates bloodletting on a grand scale.

Nobody has echoes of In Bruges with its action, some of its language and the choice of anti-heroes.

Odenkirk is splendidly deadpan in the lead role while his character is incredibly imaginative in his fights with never fewer than five bad guys at a time.

But the clincher is the casting of 82-year-old Christopher Lloyd as his father. He still has the impishness of Doc Brown as he springs a surprise or two in his son's defence.

As Mrs W said: "I don't usually like this type of film but I was really into Nobody. The soundtrack was great too."

Yes, it sure was - one of the best in quite a while and Nobody has already made a case for surprise hit of the year.

Reasons to watch: Action-packed and clever

Reasons to avoid: Wildly far-fetched

Laughs: Two

Jumps: Two

Vomit: None

Nudity: None

Overall rating: 8.5/10

Did you know? Nobody was based on an idea by Bob Odenkirk, who dealt with a home invasion himself by trapping the trespassers in the basement. 

The final word. Bob Odenkirk: "If there’s something a movie like this can do, it can let you fantasize the feelings inside you and sort of let them go, or play them out and feel cleansed of those feelings. A lot of people maybe are feeling that similar drudgery and frustration, from what is fortuitous and unplanned.” Badger Herald

Share this post