Al Pacino's Manglehorn reviewed

Director: David Gordon Green; Screenwriter: Paul Logan; Starring: Al Pacino, Holly Hunter, Harmony Korine; Running time: 97 mins; Certificate: 12A

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"I'm losing hope in tomorrow," groans Al Pacino's lonely locksmith Manglehorn midway through this lethargic movie. It's a feeling we can relate to, given the failure of an engaging narrative to emerge and take the titular character on an absorbing journey.

It's a real shame, as Pacino excels as a man who can't let go of the love of his life despite her continued absence. Anyone who has looked someone in the eyes and felt such pure love for them, only to have it taken away, can relate to his heartbroken predicament. He even has his own creepy room containing a stash of mementoes and photos from their time together, along with numerous letters he wrote to her that were 'returned to sender'.

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But can he move on from that with the help of Holly Hunter's affable bank clerk Dawn? Is there any hope of salvaging the relationship with his distant son? We're just not given enough of a reason to care. Instead, our sole source of sustained emotional investment lies with Manglehorn's pet cat, who has to undergo surgery after swallowing a key. It's the type of domestic subplot that festoons many a daytime soap, but it's far more involving than any dynamics between the human characters.

The initial stages of the film are acutely observed though, efficiently establishing the central character's state of mind. "I'm a wounded man... I've got real pain in my heart," he states early on. One look into his eyes confirms this. Al Pacino, his talents undimmed, can say so much without any words. The score by Explosions in the Sky also helps to enhance the introspective tone.

Beyond showcasing Pacino's enduring skills and exploiting our weakness for injured animals, Manglehorn doesn't seem to have a purpose.

Yet Manglehorn's self-pitying voiceover quickly becomes monotonous, with a lack of interesting developments or scenarios leading to a sense of monotony. The plot struggles to put the pieces in place to build up to the inevitable moment of self-revelation in the character arc, culminating in a largely ineffective emotional payoff.