Soundman (1998)

User Rating:

5.7/10   

Director:

Steven Ho

Writer:

Steven Ho (writer)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot:

An over-zealous and under-appreciated sound mixer on a low budget sci-fi western movie titled "Dead Cowboys"...

Plot Keywords:

Violinist | Sound Man | Employment Dismissal | Violin | Gun Shop

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Wayne Pére	...	Igby Walters
Eliane Chappuis	...	Juliet Paradis
William Forsythe	...	Frank Rosenfeld
Wes Studi	...	Terry Leonard
Nick Stahl	...	Tommy Pepin
John Koyama	...	Butch
Tamlyn Tomita	...	Butch's Wife
Liane Alexandra Curtis	...	Kate (as Liane Curtis)
Audie England	...	Francesca
Gilbert Trejo	...	Duce
Danny Trejo	...	Duce's Father
Mark Caso	...	Pawnshop Owner
Matt Sorum	...	Rocker
Patrick Malone	...	Off-Duty Officer
Christopher Caso	...	Homeless Guy (as Chris Caso)

MPAA:

Rated R for language, and for violence and brief sexuality.

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

UK:15 | Germany:16 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA

Company:

Mountainair Films

not exactly a "black comedy"

I have read that this movie was a black comedy, and it's not so much that as an oddball comedy/drama that has dark overtones, some darker than others. Igby the sound man is very much into his work but not everyone seems to take him or his craftsmanship very seriously. He treads on thin ice a lot because of his ideals and when he gets fired from a job for more or less threatening the director of the picture then he sets out to make things right, while making them more wrong than ever imagined. He has a lovely young Asian neighbor who is a violinist and he's told her that he can get her work but that's falling apart due to his current situation but she's so sweet and trusting that he doesn't have the heart to tell her. As the film goes on he's robbed by a little kid (at gunpoint), breaks into a pawn shop to steal a violin after his neighbor's is accidentally destroyed when he backs into another car, he shoots someone, he takes a big-time producer hostage, etc. In short he has nothing to lose. Except for Igby and his neighbor you can't really care about the characters here, because they're so unlikeable and maybe that was the intent. In many ways this is a little too touching to be a black comedy, because while he's not going about getting auditions for his neighbor in the "traditional" fashion he feels a sense of loyalty to her and he doesn't want to let her down. This is certainly an odd little flick and I suppose you could say it works on many levels. I found it to be pretty enjoyable and it did suck me right in. 8 out of 10.