He Was a Quiet Man (15)

Or, Requiem for a Drone. Christian Slater dons spectacles and slumps shoulders to play Bob, an office loner who's fed up and won't take any more. He's actually loading the gun at his cubicle when another office-worker beats him to it and opens fire on his colleagues. Bob's life seems to change when he's acclaimed as a have-a-go hero and then befriended by the office babe (Elisha Cuthbert), whose wounds have made her a paraplegic. But the same brew of resentment and paranoia bubbles on.

Related articles

• The Golden Compass (12A)
• The Killing Of John Lennon (15)
• Southland Tales (15)
• You Kill Me (15)
• The Sacrifice (15)
• Silent Light (15)

Writer-director Frank A Cappello creates the oppressive atmosphere of corporate competitiveness and fear, while Slater diligently impersonates the sort of schlump William H Macy plays the latter, perhaps not coincidentally, takes on the role of Slater's boss. It's dark and too relentless for the comedy it would like to be.