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ClockwatchersRating:
Release Date: 04 January, 2000 Retail Price: $24.98 OUR Price: $22.48 You SAVE: $2.50! Cast: Complete Cast (11 total) |
Clockwatchers Reviews
Brilliant, low-key, darkly comical
This is a mostly overlooked and underrated portrayal of the world of office temps. The beauty of this film is that, rather than hitting us with obvious plot devices, it slowly builds an atmosphere of oppression and monotony. The nameless company that employs and exploits the temps slowly chips away at the dreams, hopes and self-esteem of the characters. They are caught in an anonymous, meaningless life where the silliest of rules are ruthlessly enforced by petty tyrants. What's refreshing about Clockwatchers is the way it exposes the alienation of modern corporate life without resorting to the usual movie cliches. There is no sex, violence or even law suits here. It is seemingly trivial events, like the theft of small personal objects, that builds tension. There is also humor, the kind that fans of Dilbert will appreciate, as when a fired worker objects, "you can't fire me, you don't even know my name!" There is an existentialist feeling to the film, most notably verbalized by Parker Posey (a great addition to any independent film), who says something like, "I don't think anyone cares if I even exist." Clockwatchers is, I think, more than a movie about office temps. It's a commentary on our whole bureaucratic, atomized society. Along with Safe, another of my favorite films of the last decade (I'll proably review that one soon), Clockwatchers is a truly significant film about the modern world.
Unique satire
"Clockwatchers" is not just a comedy about bitter temps, in actuality, it's a satire about people's lives and how they can be totally crushed under the oppression of the work force. It's a film that exposes, with no mercy, the tedious, soul-draining routine that workers, especially temps, go through every day, and how they can feel totally trapped, with no chance at freedom. Sure, it's wickedly funny in it's observations of soulless companies and their rules and policies, but beneath it lies a bleak look at how people can totally lose their identity when devoted to their job, when everything always boils down to pleasing others and maintaining a decent salary. Like Parker Posey's character says in one scene, "I feel like I'm floating, with no connection to the outside world". The actresses in "Clockwatchers" are great, they all express their characters perfectly, especially during the second half of the movie, when all of their friendships crumble. The transformation of Toni Collette's character is chilling, especially at the end. The only thing that bothered me were the last twenty minutes, they dragged on, focusing on a plotline that didn't need to be explored. However, "Clockwatchers" is definitely worth watching, a perceptively funny and depressingly honest film.
More Customer Reviews (11 total)
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