REVIEW: OLD MAN

• Director: Lucky McKee
• Writer: Joel Veach
• Stars: Stephen Lang, Marc Senter

REVIEW

Lucky McKee’s Old Man is a rumination on loneliness and regret. An old man (Lang) lives by himself in a cabin in the middle of nowhere. Dishevelled himself, the cabin is rustic and it seems like he is living well off the grid. When he gets a visitor Joe (Senter), he is immediately suspicious. What does he want? How did he get there? The two men eventually sit down and begin talking…

Stephen Lang is a great actor and Old Man just reaffirms that. A force to be reckoned with certainly and yes he must be getting sick of being typecast as the crazy, possibly dangerous old man type but truth be told – he does it very well. Opposite him is Senter who more than holds his own in the film. Both of these guys bounce so well off each other, it keeps the film moving as they tell each other stories.

Lucky McKee is a personal favourite director of mine but without bias I can say that the direction in this film is fantastic. Not being able to rely on any ‘action’ McKee deftly moves the camera around the cabin, showing the audience only what he wants them to see but also telling the story through it.

The twist in Old Man is something that you might have suspected given the reveal of a certain incident (I’m being purposely obtuse, to keep any spoilers hidden) but all the same its the realisation that gets you and the final fifteen seconds where everything that has gone before dovetails into what is, is perfect. Old Man is an excellent film that won’t be for everyone but you should see it and find out for yourself, going in as blind as possible.

Old Man is in Cinemas, On Demand, and Digital October 14, 2022.

Ryan Morrissey-Smith | Twitter: @TigersMS78