Professor Popinjay's Compendium of Perspicacity

First published Aug 14, 2017

—–I liked A Man Alone while the man was actually alone. Unfortunately he was only alone for about five minutes. Even the METAPHOR of him being alone didn’t last act one. They should have called this A Man Surrounded by a Bunch of Trigger-Happy Accusative Easily-Manipulated Idiots. Mon Dieu! This movie is a metaphor of my life! No wonder I hated it.

—–While the man was alone the film had to rely on the audience’s ability to figure out what was going on and it did a good job in helping us along without insulting our intelligence. One almost felt an accomplished detective being able to follow the man’s train of thought. Ironic that this could be the second time I’ve suggested a movie would be better if no one spoke. More ironic is the fact that lingering ancient schools of acting (such as would be seen in silent films) may be part of this film’s shortcomings.

—–There was a brief era after talkies became the new thing wherein a lot of vaudeville and classically-trained actors really had to evolve their acting style to stay relevant. Sometimes older acting styles would persist either by the veterans of these styles or students of these veterans. I don’t know if such was the case with the female lead of A Man Alone but with all the more realistic actors in this film, she should have been wearing clown make-up.

—–The worst example of this archaic portrayal had to be the kiss. After being suddenly kissed by the supposed scoundrel a cavalcade of expressions take turns on the young lady’s face none of which are even remotely realistic. I’m sure there are plenty of women out there who would be thrilled to have a scoundrel gunslinger kiss the hell out of them but as far as this particular woman went, I think she may have just had gas.

—–Even the climax of this film was a let down. When someone is being framed for murder all you want to see is the villain paint himself into a corner. How was he found out in this film? One of his cronies fesses up. The end. Sad… Trom… BONE!

—–As with all my Not-a-Reviews, it’s never my intention to dissuade you from seeing a film however if you do choose to see this I will inform your grandmother of your randy feelings towards scoundrel gunslingers.

I Don’t Do Movie Reviews

-Professor Popinjay