Like his last two films, Prince Avalanche and Joe, David Gordon Green’s latest, Manglehorn, rests fulfilling on the shoulders of its uncompromising-but-quietly-captivating leads. Guided by one of Al Pacino’s most intentionally dialed-back performances in years, this sullen-but-meditative character study is both heartbreaking and winningly charming, even if it gets a tad too contrite as it continues.
Lonely locksmith A.J. Manglehorn (Pacino) is a man who doesn’t particularly know what he wants in life, even though he’s well into the twilight of his life. He’s a good guy at heart, yet never gave his late wife or son Jacob (Chris Messina) the proper love and attention they deserved. But this isn’t what troubles him. Rather, it’s the long lost love of another woman — one he writes pity-filled letters to constantly in the night — whom keeps him longing for his better years. Spending his days in a fog, smoking, drinking and gambling what little money he gets, he still comes to terms with his wrenched existence. This is through the help of the lovely bank assistant, Dawn (Holly Hunter).
Like many of Green’s non-studiozed productions, Manglehorn prides itself it looking squarely at the dingy and benevolent of small-town existence. Hiring non-professional actors — including Spring Breakers director Harmony Korine as Gary, a boy our main character once coached at little league who also looks up to Manglehorn as something of a father figure — to work beside its professionally-trained leads, filming on natural settings and being prone to improvisation, Green’s latest once again gives a relatable low-key vibe to this locksmith’s tale — pun mildly intended. While this doesn’t necessarily blend naturally in the movie’s ponderous or even hypnotic tendencies, it does make sure there’s a fundamental humanity intact.
This being particularly the case in the scenes Hunter and Pacino share together. Their sweet-natured relationship give Manglehorn its beating heart, and as their budding connection continues, it makes the lead character both likeable and frustrating in the ways those around see him. Were Green and first-time screenwriter Paul Logan more concentrated on their relationship, their feature may not have been original but it likely would resonate deeper emotionally. For even though it does this fine enough by the end, the biggest problem with the final film is it simply has one-or-two subplots too many to really feel cohesive.
The father-son relationship between the two Manglehorns feels forgotten between our lead's worries about his cat, letter woes, granddaughter relationship, Gary interferences and one-or-two visual metaphors about Pacino’s character dissatisfaction. And that’s a shame, because it’s the character moments with Dawn and Jacob where Manglehorn feels most organic. Pacino works well with both of them, and Hunter gives another dependably enchanting performance, but it’s as if Green doesn’t trust these two stories to guide the overarching narrative.
From there, Manglehorn’s story gets a little too thematically bloated, and while Pacino’s commendable performance keeps the ship sailing it doesn’t make the overall movie necessarily level. Particularly when his character’s anger management issues have him displaying some of his worst acting tendencies. Despite the different tones, however, Green remains ever assured as a director. He still produces a deeply felt tale of aching and mourning guided by blind hope, and this is also thanks to another fantastic score by Explosions in the Sky and David Wingo helping him captivate these emotions of sorrow shined with ambition.
As weird as it is to say, Pacino may be a little too charismatic to really harken the buried resentment of his character. But through his often-reflective performance, he nevertheless captures the complexities of this emotionally uneven persona. Manglehorn is a man who got his priorities mixed up long ago, and in his quest to find solace — even when he doesn’t particularly know what exactly he wants — Pacino resonates the struggles of his characters in a way that’s often genuinely impacting in Green’s best features. This is what ultimately what saves the movie.
Despite its imperfections, like Manglehorn himself, there’s a charm buried underneath Green’s latest indie. There are too many overwrought monologues and overly eccentric emotional cues to fully ring true, but Pacino’s quiet but calculated work provides one of his better performances in some time. And his nuanced touch is ultimately what makes the story touching, even if Manglehorn, the character, isn’t necessarily a good guy. Through him, Manglehorn, the movie, sings a squeaky but bewitching tune.