Gun-Shy Movie Review:


This slow-moving yet intriguing German drama has a thin vein of offbeat quirkiness running through it that gives it an almost dreamlike David Lynch quality. Lukas (Hinrichs) is a young guy who delivers meals-on-wheels to elderly people around the city. His life is fairly dull and solitary, except for the eccentric old people on his route. Then a young woman named Isabella (Wilson) approaches him on a bus and asks for help. They become friends, but the inexperienced Lukas isn't sure if it's developing into something romantic or not. Still, this friendship encourages him to leave his shell, and he gets to know some of his clients and a neighbour better, then makes a shocking discovery about Isabella and her stepfather, a self-help author who has written a book about conquering fear. When a local cop plants a thought in Lukas' mind, he thinks he sees a solution to his dilemma, but it's not something he even wants to contemplate.

The film's script and direction slip in the knifepoint and twist it very slowly, making us squirm in our seats as Lukas starts opening his mind to scary new thoughts. And even though we know where the film is headed, the constant parade of wacky side characters throw off the track continually, lulled into a sense of security. Everything is done steadily, from the gliding camera work to the fluid editing style and low-key but natural performances. The film seems almost random, the characters feel slightly hapless ... and then we start to drift into hints of surrealism and a growing concentration on voyeurism. And yet even with the increasingly disturbing atmosphere, the film manages to make touching comments on society's treatment of marginal people--aimless loners like Lukas as well as abandoned retirees desperate to maintain their dignity. There's also a heavy dose of irony in the way the story works itself out. And while it's clever and rather creepy, the final conclusion isn't terribly surprising.

Rich Cline

Site Contents Copyright© The Z Review, unless used with permission.This site has no intention to infringe on the rights of the film owners of Gun-Shy and intellectual copyright holders of the movies mentioned herein & hold copyright over the movie, characters, merchandise & storyline.