Talk:The Barber

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This article at the time I looked at it was mostly a movie review. It was largely a very personal essay about the topics the movie discusses. I have reworked the piece to be an article about the movie rather than a first-person essay. The contributor's essay may have value in a vehicle other than Wikipedia. I've followed a common ettiquette on Wikipedia and preserved the original essay here on the talk page: Glenn6502 03:01, 5 Nov 2004 (UTC)

I'm nowiki-ing the {{cleanup}} tag on this talk page. func(talk) 11:10, 12 Nov 2004 (UTC)
Actors: Malcolm McDowell, Jeremy Ratchford and Garwin Sanford
Director: Michael Bafaro
Screenplay: Michael Bafaro and Warren Low
Producer: Evan Taylor
Running Time: 94 Mins
Production Year: 2001
"A significant portion of people who make the news are psychopaths...thieves, swindlers, white collar criminals, stock promoters, cult leaders, mercenaries, unscrupulous business people and...serial killers. Watch the news every night at six o'clock, they pretty much jump off the screen at you. Most dramatic are the cold-blooded conscienceless killers. It's no wonder people display so much interest for the likes of John-Wayne Gacey, Richard Ramirez and Ted Bundy, for these people, along with the sensational crimes they commit, are perfect Twentieth Century Saints. I can't help but wonder how many people are glued to their television sets, waiting for the next ripping sound-bites...mmm...fascinating."
This is the voice of Malcolm McDowell as the local barber, Dexter Miles, in the town of Revelstoke, Alaska as he sits in front of the news at the beginning of a winter where the days are engulfed in 24 hour darkness, which, as we are also told, "...brings out the worst in people." Unknown to the townsfolk however, that which is brought out of Dexter, is far worse than they would imagine.
Like John Hurt, Malcolm McDowell has a distinct and brilliant voice for narration, something that has been well demonstrated throughout his acting career which took off really (in terms of movies) when Lindsay Anderson took an interest in him prior to having his scene cut from Poor Cow in 1967. Lindsay then cast McDowell as the prep-school rebel in `If...' in 1968, after which we saw him in the role of the more mentally disturbed gang leader, Alex, in the infamous Kubrick movie `A Clockwork Orange' which has since become a much talked about cult classic.
Since then McDowell's career, whilst being a busy one, has had its ups and downs and personally, I had ceased to take him seriously until his role as "Gangster" in Gangster Number One, a role that the McDowell's narrative voice was perfect for, being adapted from a stage play that was essentially a series of monologues. South Park fans will have also seen McDowell introducing himself as "...a British person," before playing story-teller to the re-writing of Dickens' Great Expectations by Matt and Trey - showing the more cheeky, comic side to McDowell.
Along with that voice and a truly brilliant acting talent, the Leeds born McDowell, has about him a natural charisma that draws you into his characters. Dexter Miles, "the barber", is no exception. This goes some way to answering a question that Malcolm was quoted to have said off-set, where he stayed on location at Revelstoke in the British Colombia:
"Dexter is, of course, a terrible man, morally, but the dilemma is why does the audience like to watch him. Why do they like to watch him when they know he's such a bad man?"
The fact of the matter is that there is a great deal of truth in what Dexter has to say about media sensationalism and what he sees as Twentieth Century saints. In my opinion, we are not just fascinated by the likes of serial killers because of their sheer atrociousness or because there is JUST a sensational story to be told around such characters. I think there is much more than that and it comes from almost admiring their strength. In a century where there has been a distinct shift in belief systems from a transcendental that is external (believing in a God or a King or some other iconic leader) to one that is internal (believing in the self and in individuality) to some extent, has lead to many more people becoming in touch with their own mortality. As a result, whether consciously or unconsciously, the idea that life is perhaps futile or at least in some ways finite, is something that has become more widely spread amongst the world populous.
The problem with the spreading if such a foundation of beliefs is that at the extremes, this can be manifested in either a new liberated embracing of life and all things living, or a complete disregard for it/them. Consequently, if life is pointless and without value then there really is no great guilt to be felt in the taking of it.
I personally see myself as one who, liberated from God or any other transcendental force watching over me, feels free to enjoy life and all it has to offer to the full, leaving death to deal whatever it may at the end of such a life. Being a thinking man though, I could have easily tipped the other way. This comes to the reasoning behind why so many see strength in, and ultimately have a strange sense of admiration for, the killer without conscience. The fact is that being without conscience also offers up another freedom.
Most people do not lie in the extremes of belief I have described. The majority wander around lost somewhere in between, half awake, half asleep, wondering what it would be like to be able to set themselves free from those things that pre-occupy their minds so much - the boundaries of work, money, family and so on, which, whilst in many ways form part of their enjoyment, also for many, restrict it. This is especially so for those who are going through the motions of living a life as a result of expectation. These people grow up and fulfill the roles that have been prescribed for them, because they feel that is what they are supposed to do.
Then, here they are, faced with someone who doesn't do that. Here is someone, in this case a simple barber in a quiet town, who doesn't care what other people think. In fact he almost has a strange power to control what they think because he knows people live to expectation and has thus worked out how to play with those expectations and the ideals that the average Joe (or in this case the average Joanne) are longing for. He tells them what they want to hear and takes from them what he wants - not because he is a genius, but just because he was smart enough to figure out how easy it really is.
Often we accredit the likes of Ted Bundy and Ramirez with being mad geniuses or for being just plain bloody crazy, but the reality is that we HAVE to accredit them with something because we need an excuse as to why THEY can do it, when we feel we can't. How can they get away with running around doing what the hell they want without fear or conscience when we can't even walk 5 minutes late into work without feeling bad for it? - Well it's because they are nuts of course! And so we explain it away.
The trouble is. It doesn't go away. Despite our great "progress" these people are ever prevalent. In fact violent crime, psychosis and the birth and growth of the serial killer mentality, amongst the population in the western world can be proportionately measured against economic growth and the progression of capitalist societies - you only have to sit and watch "The Killing of America" to see evidence of that.
It is this "admiration" of the viewer for such characters, that makes this film quite remarkable as you do find yourself rooting for the bad guy and in many ways feeling a sense of empathy and understanding for McDowell's character.
It is different because it surprises you. You would be forgiven for expecting, from the title and much of the associated marketing imagery, that you were going to be faced with another movie in the classic slasher vein, but this is not the case. Nor are you going to be simply dragged through a plodding detective investigation to its inevitable conclusion.
It is no wonder that this movie won the award for "Best Feature Length Drama Screenwriter" at the Leo Awards 2002 as well as gaining nominations for "Best Feature Length Drama and Director" at the Leo's and "Outstanding Achievement in Feature Film" from the 2002 Directors Guild of Canada
Overall "The Barber" provides a very different look into the mind of a serial killer to that we have become accustomed to seeing in big-screen, big-budget flicks. Jeremy Ratchford puts in a great performance as the underestimated local Sherriff, who also proves to be a surprising character in a dark town where no-one, just like in the big world of reality, is quite what they initially appear to be. McDowell however, steals the limelight as the charismatic Dexter, proving not only his worth as a veteran actor, but also that,
"Like it or not, the psychopath has become the most fascinating folk figure of our time. They're by no means confined to the places we expect to find them. They're masterminding leverage buy-outs on Wall Street, making films in Hollywood, running for congress...even preaching in our churches. If you think you know a psychopath...ha...you're probably right!"