Synopsis
A war criminal in hiding forms a relationship with his only connection to the outside world - his maid.
2017 Directed by Brad Silberling
A war criminal in hiding forms a relationship with his only connection to the outside world - his maid.
Um Homem Comum, Обикновен човек, Σκοτεινό Παρελθόν, Un hombre ordinario, Un Hombre Ordinario, Egy hétköznapi ember, Un uomo ordinario, 언 오디너리 맨, Zwykły człowiek, Обычный человек, Sıradan Bir Adam
Quick Review
First time seeing Hera Hilmar in other than Mortal Engines and she's actually really, really good in this one, considering her co-star being none other than Sir Ben Kingsley in a dramatic feature. The premise of An Ordinary Man, that of a relationship between a Bosnian Serb war criminal (Kingsley) in hiding and his "maid" (Hilmar), isn't one for great liking to its obvious content. Written and directed by Brad Silberling (yes the same filmmaker who also did Casper, A Series of Unfortunate Events, and Land of the Lost) who tries so hard to get into the arthouse side of things yet it's clear he's way out of his elements with An Ordinary Man. The writing is uninspired…
I expected way too much from this movie and it ended up letting me down. weak script and an overall uneven film with a few bright spots. great performances by the lead actors tho
Brad Silberling's long-awaited return to theatrical filmmaking following the critical and commercial failure of Land of the Lost unfortunately isn't worth the wait as evidenced by An Ordinary Man, which offers compelling performances from Ben Kingsley and Hera Hilmar but little else, with limp writing and direction and a plot that's about as thin as a sheet of paper.
This film is so extremely neutral - violently so. It highlights a numbness that’s probably much closer to reality than most other films of its kind. Pretty odd.
...in an ordinary film. Ben Kingsley chews scenery while Hera Hilmar shines, but Brad Silberling's brief and slight screenplay only has time to explore her character's past with regard to her menstrual cycle and awkward first sexual encounters. Jesus Christ, can you tell an ordinary man wrote this?
A nice little film starring "Sir Ben Kingsley". He plays the part of a general who is in hiding from his war crimes. The script is good and I love his little one liners with the maid. He is hidden in a claustrophic world, he wants his freedom. It is slow and not a lot happens It is just a nice relaxing film to watch. I could easily watch this again as I love his charm.
A difficult film to warm to given Kngsley's 'loose' performance. His accent is wandering almost as much as the script. Hilmar saves the day though - she's cool but not aloof and conveys much with little.
tonight I watched ROMA and after it was over I sat in my chair awhile Thinking Thoughts and Being Depressed until finally I was like jesus I need to watch another movie I don’t care what.
I found this on Amazon Prime & rented it because it was cheap and looked interesting.
in this movie Ben Kingsley portrays a war criminal in hiding who’s so smart-n-cagey that it never occurs to him that the innocent woman who blunders into his apartment one day might—gasp—not actually be so innocent after all.
this movie was directed by Brad Silberling of CITY OF ANGELS infamy. what does that peach taste like to you, Brad.
Brad Silberling’s first film since the underrated but sadly underperforming Land of the Lost, An Ordinary Man sees Ben Kingsley with a mouth full of scenery, as an ex-Yugoslavian general on the run from war crime tribunals, strike up a friendship with his maid. Friendship may be the wrong word, it starts off more as a kidnapper-hostage situation but does blossom into a mutual relationship of sorts. Ben Kingsley is basically playing his character from Sexy Beast, that disarming smile and charisma masking a genuine danger and short fuse, especially because he doesn’t attempt an Eastern European accent, which initially took some getting my head around. Hera Hilmar as the maid is tremendous, look for…
very mundane and uninteresting. great actors but unlikable characters and a boring story
An Ordinary Man starts out as a pretty interesting story but falls flat in the second act and falls more at its ending.