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He Was a Quiet Man
Metascore
53 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 5 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 5
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 5
  3. Negative: 0 out of 5
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  1. Seattle Post-Intelligencer
    Reviewed by: William Arnold
    75
    With his Jack Nicholson mannerisms extinguished and his boyish features made up to look worn and aged, Slater also makes us believe and care about this guy. A movie this marginal isn't likely to get much notice, but it's one of the very best things he has done.
  2. L.A. Weekly
    Reviewed by: Scott Foundas
    70
    He Was a Quiet Man casts its own perversely funny spell thanks in large part to Slater, whose wonderfully shifty, beaten-down performance is easily his best in the 17 years.
  3. Empire
    Reviewed by: Kat Brown
    60
    An enjoyable satire is let down by a third act that juggles too many ideas for its own good.
  4. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Lou Lumenick
    50
    Initially shows promise, but filmmaker Frank Cappello (the early Russell Crowe vehicle "No Way Back") gets bogged down when Slater becomes involved with Elisa Cuthbert, a paraplegic survivor of the shooting who wants him to kill her.
  5. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Stephen Holden
    40
    By the time it reaches a weak, ambiguous conclusion, the movie has gone everywhere and nowhere, much like its psychotic main character, Bob Maconel (Christian Slater).
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User Reviews

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User Score
7.7 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 10 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 1
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 1
  3. Negative: 0 out of 1
  1. ChadS.
    7
    Bob Maconel is a different sort of psycho killer than the one Christian Slater played in "Heathers" eighteen years ago. As Jason Dean, Slater did a pretty fair imitation of Jack Nicholson when wooing Veronica(a pre-klepto Winona Ryder), the good Heather, whereas in "He Was a Quiet Man", the fading star of 1990's "Pump Up the Volume" gives us his own take of a ticking time bomb; a white-collar Travis Bickle-type who fantasizes about mowing down his office co-workers. Indeed, the moment when DeNiro walks into that seedy motel to save(and impress) Jodie Foster in Martin Scorsese's "Taxi Driver", seems to be this sometimes surreal but ultimately uneven comedy/drama's starting point. Both men become accidental heroes, but only Bob gets to date the woman of his dreams. In the Scorsese masterpiece, Betsy(Cybil Shepherd) gets out of Travis' cab. The fluidity of the film's tone keeps you guessing as to whether Bob's new reality is free-forming or not. In "Taxi Driver", the music by Bernard Herrmann makes Travis' moment in the limelight seem like a dream. "He Was a Quiet Man" is not, by any stretch of the imagination, another seminal film about some sociopath. But it contains a good performance by Slater, who gets nice supporting help from Elisha Cuthbert(as Vanessa), an actress best known for playing the porno star-next door.… Full Review »
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