Writers: Simon Brett, Andrew Klavan / Director: Jan Egleson / 1990 / Runtime: 1 Hour, 28 Minutes / 1 Disc / 101 Films
Review by Paul Dunne
24th May 2024 (Released 27th May 2024)
The Pitch: HE’S KILLING ON IMPULSE... AND HE WON’T REST UNTIL HE GETS A CORNER OFFICE! Loyal and hardworking executive Graham Marshall (screen legend Michael Caine) has paid his dues. He has suffered through mounting bills, the indignities of climbing the corporate ladder, and a nagging wife (Swoosie Kurtz, Sisters) with only an anxiously awaited promotion to keep him going. But that all changes when his promotion is instead given to a boorish associate (Peter Riegert, National Lampoon’s Animal House). Annoyed and frustrated, Graham unleashes his rage... in the form of an accidental killing with which he gets away clean! Emboldened by his newfound talent for murder, Graham begins to rethink his business strategy - with deadly results. Elizabeth McGovern (Ragtime, The Handmaid’s Tale), Will Patton (Remember the Titans, No Way Out), and Jenny Wright (Near Dark, The Lawnmower Man) also star in this electrifyingly pitch-black comedy of Madison Avenue and murder.
A Shock To The System is one of those movies that always risked getting lost. An independent feature made at the beginning of the indie cinema boom, yet having all the hallmarks of a studio picture (major star, a plotline set amongst the 'big business' world of Manhattan). Yet the fate of indie cinema from the nineties, even those films featuring major actors, is uncertain. Often rights issues hold back these films from seeing the light of day for many years, so it’s great to have labels like 101 releasing these smaller, but no less entertaining films. A Shock To The System had as its antecedents Working Girl and The Secret of My Success, both of which were more outright comedies about younger people trying to 'make it' in mergers and acquisitions. I doubt the writers and director were really influenced by those, but the 'Business Comedy' was definitely a genre in the eighties. But what A Shock To The System can count as an influence Shakespeare's Macbeth, only a Macbeth who dispatches his Lady M and carries on murdering his way up the corporate ladder. This seems to have come a long at an interesting time for Caine as an actor, as he was making his transition from young, vital leading man to elder statesman, something that chimes well with the film's themes.
Caine's Graham Marshall is a man living his worst life, nagged by his wife Swoosie Kurtz, clearly enamoured of his co-worker Elizabeth McGovern, and expecting a promotion which is snatched away from him at the last minute. Experiencing the sudden rush of power from accidentally killing a homeless man when he shoves him off a subway platform in front of a moving train, he begins applying this newfound power and god-like willingness to take life to every aspect of his existence. He kills his wife to solve the problem of her nagging, and then his new smug boss to get his job, Caine's malevolence, betrayed right from the start by his voice-over, begins to show through. as he plots more murder and grabs more power.
Egleson is a more than competent director working from a nice, tight script by Brett and Klavan but the whole thing largely works because of Caine's tightrope performance. He's a good guy, who does bad things, but still makes you like him. If Jeremy Irons plays the part, well... he's far too much of a bastard to make it work. You have to still love Caine. And you do. He has a wonderfully breezy presence, even as he sets up explosions and drugs his new girlfriend. And to be fair, his wife is an over-spending harridan. His boss is a smug prick. The only victim who doesn't make us feel like he deserved it is the homeless guy. Of course, in truth, no one in the film deserves it. But Caine allows us to think they do. Allows the darker parts of ourselves that would gladly murder our bosses if the pay rise didn't come through to be indulged.
Caine's charm is effortless, and he’s well aware of the weight he carries, happily discarding it to relax other actors and the audience. He's the asshole, but he's the asshole you like hanging out with. There's a roster of great talent in the movie to back Caine up, most notably Will Patton playing the police detective investigating Caine and McGovern playing the woman who falls for him. But you also get the much-missed Jenny Wright (below) from Near Dark, Young Guns II, and The Lawnmower Man (also soon to be released by 101 Films), Haviland Morris (above) who was so brilliant in Who's That Girl? and Gremlins 2: The New Batch and Peter Riegert, who exudes confident, smarmy charm in pretty much everything he did. It's easy to forget that actors like Riegert and Kurtz also have to flirt with unlikability, but don't get the release of bumping off the people that aggravate them.
I hadn't seen A Shock To The System since its release, so I'll admit I had my doubts. But it proved to be an entertaining, well-crafted black comedy. 101's Blu-Ray looks nice and crisp, not falling prey to the fuzzy look and drained colours of later nineties releases. The photography by Paul Goldsmith looks great, especially for a mid-budget, 34-year-old indie movie. Egleson directs the film with confidence but doesn't give in to the temptation of flash. It is the epitome of 'good story, well told'. And in this era of low-grade streaming movies led by high-priced actors, that’s something I’m always happy to know was once the norm, not the exception.
special features
Audio commentary with Director Jan Egleson
Egleson's commentary is informative, covering both the technical aspects of the film and the creative. He discusses Caine's performance and the scripting of the film with refreshing candor.
Interview with Jan Egleson
A chatty, fun conversation with the professional Egleson discussing his thoughts on the film over 30 years since its debut.
Alternate ending
A frankly disappointing ending that was clearly forced on Egleson, and nowhere near as good
Theatrical trailer
Still gallery
A Shock To The System is available Monday 27th May and can be pre-ordered now from 101 Films
