VOD's You Should See: The Man Who Killed Hitler and Then Bigfoot
VOD's You Should See looks to highlight independent cinema that has a very limited theatrical release or is being directly released On Demand. The hope of this column is to help other film lovers discover an indie gem and for the film to be recognized and seen by a wider audience!
This week's film: The Man Who Killed Hitler and Then Bigfoot
Have you ever had your dreams answered? RLJ Entertainment answered mine late last year. They delivered me the Nicholas Cage/Panos Cosmatos insanity machine that was Mandy. If you haven’t seen it yet, it doesn’t matter, its already one of your favorite movies of 2018 (Cheddar Goblin 4ever).
Now its 2019 and RLJE has returned to make dreams come true again with a movie a movie about a man who killed Hitler and now has to kill The Bigfoot. It’s called The Man Who Killed Hitler and then The Bigfoot. The man is Calvin (played by Sam freaking Elliot), and this movie starts with Lonely is the Night by Billy Squier.
That would be perfect already, but this isn’t really a B-movie. The title conjures images of over the top action, stupid quips, and a whole lot of crazy. Some of that is here, but it’s actually more of a slow character stud. It’s about an old man’s life, his love, and the toll that going to war performing these history-shaking tasks can take on a human being. That’s right, even killing the person most worthy of being killed still takes a toll.
Calvin’s story is told in two timelines, one of him in his younger WWII years (where he is played by Aiden Turner of Poldark fame) and one in his old age where Sam Elliot takes over. I haven’t seen Aiden Turner in much, but he is quite good here. Everyone is pretty good actually, but the star of the show is Sam Elliot. I would go as far as to call this one of his finest performances, the kind of thing that should get some kind of award season recognition. Unfortunately the title and relatively low profile will relegate this to one of the deeper cuts in his filmography.
Elliot plays tortured so well, and to watch this decent man grapple with the weight of his youth and its fallout is crushing. This film is actually moving on quite a few occasions. Sure some of it is a bit cliché in its story about a man going off to war, but its also got Hitler dying, a Bigfoot, and a scene where Elliot destroys some punks. I would give more plot than this, but I feel like once you read the title you are either on board or are you not.
This movie was not made for much money and at times it shows. There’s an odd CGI shot every once in a while and a scene in a barbershop where there is definitely no hair actually being cut. The story stays relatively small, but that works in the films favor. You get more time to know the characters and really invest in them. Once the hunt is on in the past or present, the film opens a bit and it makes a nice juxtaposition between the little town where Calvin lives and the great big world that exists outside.
If you want a big dumb crazy B-Movie then I suggest you watch Road House, its also got Sam Elliot and it’s a throat ripping good time. If you’d like to see a beautiful character study with a love story filtered through a genre movie then this is for you. The mix is odd, but the result is stirring and quite an addictive watch.