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Panic   ...   movie reviews
sun 2005-oct-16 12:20:10 pdt   ...   permalink


Yesterday we watched the strangely-titled Panic. I'd never heard of it before, but based on the description -- something like, "a hitman (William H. Macy) having a midlife crisis starts seeing a therapist (John Ritter), and falls in love with another patient (Neve Campbell)" -- I thought it sounded interesting, though my expectations were not high. It actually turned out to be quite good.

I think I've generally seen William H. Macy in supporting roles; not sure if I've seen him as the central character of anything. But in any case, the idea of him playing a hitman struck me as humorously incongruous when I heard the plot summary. But his character turns out to be fairly similar to other roles he's played in how he relates to other people, if not in occupation. And he really makes the story believable even though when you think about it, it's fairly absurd.

The boy who plays his son is also great. He's the actor who later played the kid in The Ring. Also good performances by Donald Sutherland (as Macy's father) and Neve Campbell.

Anyway, the story drew me in. The premise could have been "hitman sees a therapist, hilarity ensues", but it didn't go that route. And that was a good thing.


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mon 2005-oct-17 11:39:30 pdt
posted by
Trochee at LiveJournal

WH Macy is one of the best actors around for his ability to make oddball characters real and believable. Fargo is great for that reason.

Thank goodness it wasn't another Analyze This.


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