Sam Elliott has the ultimate American face.
(2018) Drama (RLJE) Sam Elliott, Aidan Turner, Caitlin Fitzgerald, Ron Livingston, Sean Bridgers, Larry Miller, Ellar Coltrane, Rizwan Manji, Mark Steger, Anastasia Tsikhanava, Kristin Anne Ferraro, Kelley Curran, Nikolai Tsankov, Alton Fitzgerald White, David Armstrong, Rob Levesque, Rocco Gioffre, Harold Rudolph, Joe Lucas, Mark Lund, Melissa Jalali. Directed by Robert D. Kryzkowski
Sometimes a movie title will give you one expectation and the film deliver a totally different experience, one that’s unexpected and maybe even welcome. Sometimes, you have to be receptive to a curveball in this business.
The Man Who Killed Hitler and Then the Bigfoot is such a movie. From the oddball title, one might expect a quirky action film with comedic elements a la Tarantino. And there is some of that in here, make no mistake, but the film isn’t played for laughs at all. The tone is bittersweet, which caught me by surprise and then, delight.
Sam Elliott, he of America’s most iconic moustache, plays Cavin Barr, a haunted man living alone in a small town with his dog, propping a bar from time to time. Nobody really knows him, except for maybe his brother Ed (Miller). He hides a secret; as a young man (Turner) during the War, he was a special forces operative who assassinated Hitler. However the war continued on as the Nazis put a look-alike in charge and their ideology survived. Elliott’s risky assignment accomplished nothing, and cost him the girl he wanted to marry (Fitzgerald).
He is sought out by a government agent (Livingston) who asks him to take one last assignment; to kill the Bigfoot (Steger) who is carrying a deadly plague that could conceivably wipe out mankind. Calvin himself is apparently immune. Calvin at first is uninterested; “I am done with killing, man or beast,” he proclaims laconically. However, the chance to finally matter, to put the ghosts of his past to rest prove to be too much so to the Pacific Northwest he goes.
Much of the movie is about Calvin’s regrets and in that sense, Elliott is perfectly cast; he has a naturally world-weary face and that gravelly drawl reinforces it. Elliott gives one of his finest performances ever here which is saying something, but matching it is Miler as his brother Ed, which is saying something quite different.
The Pacific Northwest cinematography is lovely as you might expect, although the Bigfoot make-up is decidedly unconvincing. The last third of the film is almost a survivalist thriller as Bigfoot and Calvin go mano a mano in the woods. The title is a bit of a spoiler though, although the ending has a note of grace that I admired. Director and writer Kryzkowski has quite a bit of talent, although he might want to have someone else come up with a title in the future. Still, this is a solid picture and any opportunity to see Sam Elliott at work is a worthwhile endeavor, in my book.
REASONS TO SEE: Elliott and Miller are both perfectly cast. I liked the melancholy tone.
REASONS TO AVOID: The Bigfoot makeup is pretty lame.
FAMILY VALUES: There’s some profanity and violence.
TRIVIAL PURSUIT: Turner and Fitzgerald’s onscreen romance led to an offscreen romance after filming was completed.
BEYOND THE THEATERS: Amazon, AppleTV, Fandango Now, Google Play, Hoopla, Hulu, Microsoft, Redbox, Vudu, YouTube
CRITICAL MASS: As of 7/1/20: Rotten Tomatoes: 71% positive reviews, Metacritic: 51/100
COMPARISON SHOPPING: Inglorious Basterds
FINAL RATING: 7/10
NEXT: Disclosure (2020)
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