imizrahi2002 So i gave it a ten. not that that'll make up for the ones that didn't like it. this movie, imo, is flawless...and surprising. it has moments of writing brilliance, PERfectly portrayed. it's VERY easy to see why pacino picked this role. even holly hunter was different than anything(not much) i've seen her in in the last 10 years...a nice change. that's all i'm going to say about this except that i got up outta bed after the movie was over, turned on this heap and waited for it to fire up JUST so that i could write this...i doubt, these years later, anyone will read it. but it deserved to be said...this movie is an indie movie lover's dream...

Scarecrow-88 David Gordon Green was behind the helm for this "return to form" for Pacino (I'm not sure he ever lost his form, as much as, being stuck in unflattering films he attempted to keep alive ("88 Minutes" or "Righteous Kill" or "Jack and Jill" come to mind) by sheer will. He stars as a lock and key business owner (he does the opening cars and doors, and fixing up keys for folks himself, driving a van with his name in distinctive name in print pimping his small business) named Manglehorn, still pining for lost love (someone named Clara, who has perhaps become more of a myth than real person), and encountering potential romance (with an excellent Holly Hunter) with a bank teller. Manglehorn's relationship with his investor son, Jacob (Chris Messina) is strained to say the least. And his beloved white cat, Fannie, needs surgery after swallowing a key (talk about the irony!). What else exists is kind of an everyday mundane life that seems to go on, day in and day out, without much excitement. It could all change, perhaps, if he could just escape this obsessive fantasy about Clara, and realize just what is missing. Hunter's scene in a Golden Coral / Ryan's type restaurant, trying to make small talk and get to know Manglehorn is as good a piece of acting work as you will see all of 2015. When he drones on about Clara, how special she is, and his past experiences with her (as if Clara were some sort of mystical siren written in Greek folklore) it ruins the here-and-now of two lonelyhearts, detonating the chemistry (it doesn't help that Manglehorn demeans her by pretty much saying no one could equal Clara's qualities, and talking about how beets give him diarrhea!) that had potential for something quite magnetic. Her face going from enchantment and the idea of a promising relationship gradually deteriorating into disappointment, insult, and ultimately hurt, Hunter ably conveys the offensive nature of Manglehorn's comments about a woman who no longer exists in his life while sitting and eating at a table under this woman who could replace her.I was a bit indifferent to the film overall, because Manglehorn is often his own worst enemy. People come in and out of his life, and he fails to offer them a strong reason to embrace him. Manglehorn does have this natural charm about him that seems to ingratiate positively with others, but then he kind of retreats into his own head, removing the reality around him in favor of devotion to a woman and what his thoughts and feelings are for her. Hunter's conversations with him, for instance, never quite go anywhere and I wondered to myself why she'd even try. His interest seems distracted while hers is focused attentively on him. Only at the very end, when he finally faces the Clara illusion and shatters it by removing all reminders of her from his home, does reality around him start to gain his attention. He mumbles to himself, and Gordon Green carries us right into Manglehorn's lost face, and the noise of his thoughts are made known to us. His animosity with Jacob is particularly established…their dialogue is too often of the "father is disappointed in his successful son's affluent lifestyle, focus on the business and money" variety. It's an act that gets a bit tiring. You just don't see Manglehorn positing any affection, with this cold fish response seemingly all he can give.Highlights include Manglehorn walking around with his cat right after a massive vehicular pile-up, Manglehorn realizing that a kid he thought was making a decent living for himself (abrasive film director Harmony Korine, quite an unflappably Chatty Cathy who rarely shuts the f--- up; I'm glad the film doesn't spend too much time with this jerk) is operating a whorehouse under the disguise of a massage parlor, and this A cappella number in a bank where a man emerges singing as those inside the building wonder what is going on (he's singing to a teller he's in love with; the teller begins singing along with him!). I wish the dialogue and conversations between characters had more depth compared to the performances. Still it is nice to see Pacino in parts like this again. The Texas locations are rich in natural flavor (the key store, clubs, local establishments, and bank carry an authenticity to them that is appreciated in order for us to accept the characters as relatable to us who do live in the real world).

LeonLouisRicci Eccentric Indie Director Green along with two Superb Actors, Al Pacino and Holly Hunter, deliver an almost Lost Art, the Character Study. Left to Low-Budget experimenters and Performers looking for an outlet Out of the Mainstream, this type of Film is becoming "Film Festival Fodder" and that is where the Genre finds the most Sympathetic Audience.Not Multiplex favorites and Mainstream Appeal is Lacking, it is this type that Rely on Reality and have been called "Slice of Life". The Film is filled with Offbeat Imagery and Dialog that seems Flat at First but Resonates nonetheless. Witness Manglehorn's Story about a Nun and some Children on a boat to explain His Atheism.Holly Hunter is simply Stellar in what amounts to a Supporting Role and Her Emotion is Heartbreaking and very Real. Two other People in Manglehorn's Life are included as Representative of why Pacino says in a half-hearted Throwaway Throwback Touchtone..."The World is Yours" (meaning I want nothing to do with it)...is His Son and a former Kid He coached in Little League. Both are Obnoxious and Manglehorn finds Them Barely Tolerable and Symbolic of People in General. That may be why when Holly Hunter says on Their First Date..."I'm a people person...I love life", Pacino Snaps and regresses to a Senior Moment of Disconnect.Overall, a Film for Refined Taste and Fans of Reality based Cinema with an Artistic Flare. Pacino and Hunter give Noteworthy Performances and the Movie is Rich with flavor.

Nick Dees Perhaps this isn't your typical Al Pacino movie, but just to see the man on the screen is incredible. He can take any role and make it fascinating. It was a pretty simple sorry with a very complicated character. An older man who was trying to start all over again, which could be hard for even the young at heart. He does a good job of showing us how eccentric the character has become. From the cats, to the meetings with Holly Hunter.I would recommend watching it if you are an Al Pacino fan and see a different side to the legend. I think you will be pleasantly surprised at his sheer skill especially since most of the movie revolves around him.