"The Minus Man"

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Vann Siegert: "A spider crawled in my ear once, but then he crawled out because nobody was home."

The Shooting Gallery film series really hit paydirt with this low-key 1999 thriller. "The Minus Man" is to this day the biggest success of their independent production/distribution company. There's a good reason why... it's a brilliant film that stays true to its artistic vision, while creating one of the most interesting serial killers ever to appear on the silver screen. Based on the novel by Lew McCreary and written and directed by first-time director Hampton Fancher (wrote "Blade Runner"), "The Minus Man" is a meditation on the every-man serial killer, a subtle person who is really likable, yet inside he is a churning cauldron of repressed anger and volatility. The killer likes to think he is only giving his victims a helping hand over the brink of existence, when in reality he is a cold-blooded murderer. People like Vann Siegert are always fascinating, because they remain true to life in the sense that so many real life serial killers are usually described as "the boy next door", "quiet and kept to himself"... yet Vann Siegert is an outgoing young man who fits in wherever he goes, not causing much of a stir, making friends and being a real nice guy. He has no problem getting victims since they seem to be drawn to him like moths to a flame, and he never forces their fate, instead just leaving something tempting right in front of them, that way he didn't "really" kill them, they killed themselves or so he makes himself believe...

Vann Siegert: "I take the natural momentum of a person and draw it towards me."

"The Minus Man" follows serial killer and all-around nice guy Vann Siegert along the Pacific Coast of the Northwest United States as he drifts from place to place, leaving a hard to follow trail of victims, seemingly random acts of "mercy" to Vann. As happens with many real life serial killers, Vann has brushes with the police, but he does not "look bad", so they usually let him go on his way, paying little attention to him afterwards. Without going into too much detail about plot specifics (since I wouldn't want to ruin the fun of figuring it out), Vann's "first' victim in the film is Sheryl Crow, who is herself a drifter, and a drug-addicted lush. The scene where he disposes of the body is very telling of his own inner workings. Also, the voice-over narration by Wilson begins to play a larger part from that point on, and continues to become more and more important to the rest of the film. Vann Siegert continues down the road until he stops in a small town and decides to stay for a while. He ends up renting a room from the Durwin's (Brian Cox & Mercedes Ruehl). We slowly learn that the Durwin's daughter has been missing for some time, and that Mrs. Durwin's initial reluctance to rent the room to Vann is because it was her daughter's room. Mr. Durwin also happens to have "connections" at the post office, so Vann gets the chance to work there and takes it. It is at his postal job that he meets Janeane Garofalo, and Vann begins as "normal" of a romantic relationship as he can manage, which makes for a short-lived interlude. All the time that Vann is living his seemingly normal existence, people begin to disappear, the facts become purposely muddled and we are left with a puzzle that becomes more and more unstereotypical as it goes along, every "twist" as unexpected as the last. To this day, I don't know what to make of Vann Siegert, but I do know that I like the guy and he never ceases amaze me...

Vann Siegert: "Some people die in less than a minute, others it takes ten. I guess it's what they call metabolic. If it wasn't closed, I'd go to the library and get clear on this."

Owen Wilson in the role of Vann Siegert is perfect. It's his blonde hair, soft face, crooked nose, natural charm and gentle demeanor that make him such a seemingly passive participant in life, but when he's alone and no ones around, we get to see him batling his own demons... in a disturbing moment of passionate fury, Vann opens up and lets loose all of the anger inside, except he remains silent, his face speaking volumes about the fire raging within. Wilson's Siegert is a killer of the non-violent sort, a poisoner, who generally just observes the death of his victims as if they were dying of natural causes. He's polite, sweet and lovable, always ready to "help" another person out of their miserable existence. Owen Wilson becomes the role so seemingly that it all seems so natural to him, and I feel like I'm watching a best friend become a victim of his own misfortune. You actually feel sorry for ol' Siegert in the end, the poor fella never had a chance, he tries and he tries, but to no avail. The rest of the cast are well suited for their characters. Sheryl Crow turns as Caspar aka Laurie Bloom has a natural acting abiity that allows her to play her role like it is second nature. Dwight Yoakum ("Sling Blade") as Blair the imaginary detective in Siegert's mind shows that he is more than a one-trick pony. Dennis Haysbert ("The Thirteenth Floor", "Suture") as Graves, Blair's imaginary detective partner is ominous and foreboding as he and Yoakum play their good cop/ bad cop mindgame with particularly good rhythm and ability. Mercedes Ruehl as Jane Durwin, is emotional bereft and seemingly cold to the touch, until she begins to warm up through the film. Brian Cox ("Manhunter", "Rushmore") as Jane's husband is a sad masochistic soul and alcoholic, who is so worn down after his daughter "died" that he wants to make others happy, all the while making himself hurt worse. It's an endearing and heartbreaking role that I believe is the best in the film. Janeane Garofalo as the alkie/ post office worker/ Siegert love interest does an interesting job of splitting her performance into a woman trying trying to make good impressions, and a woman unleashed with a bottle of Jack Daniels, living to drink, not drinking to live. Eric Mabius ("Welcome to the Dollhouse", "The Crow: Salvation") really does a good job at giving three-dimensions to the ill-fated quarterback who wants more than football from his life. Larry Miller plays Paul Panich with his usual fervor (he's a really great character actor who usually plays small parts in flicks).

Vann Siegert: "They come to me like moths because I shine."

All sorts of questions arise as we are given pieces to the puzzle, but nothing seems to fit. What are Vann's motives? Does he have any motives? Did he kill those people or didn't he? These are but a few of the questions that came to my mind the first time I saw it, and after viewing this film numerous times at home, I still don't have a definitive answer, all the more reason to watch this great film over and over again. Everytime I watch it I come to a slightly different conclusion and different meanings behind the supposedly meaningless plot. I also must say that this film is presented in such a way as to make me come alert at the end, and not even realize that time had passed and i had watched the whole thing... in particular the musical score and soft visuals make for a surreal and hypnotic experience. I would definitely suggest this film to anyone who likes originality, mindgames, eerie serial killer dramas or any combination of the bunch. Also, be forewarned, "The Minus Man" is not an open and shut case-type of film, instead it leaves questions unanswered and futures untold, which I find all that much more intriguing...