The Silent Partner, directed by Daryl Duke, is the kind of hidden gem that comes out of nowhere and fills you with such cinematic fulfillment and ecstasy that you instantly google “Films similar to The Silent Partner.”
Set in Toronto, Canada, around Christmas, the film opens with Miles (Elliot Gould) working as a bank teller at a small bank inside a big mall. One day, he stumbles upon the information of an impending bank robbery and learns that the mall Santa Claus is the planned offender. However, instead of panicking and informing his superiors, Miles has the audacious notion of stealing the money before the robbery by stashing that day’s window transactions in his lunch box. When Santa Claus holds up the bank as Miles expected, he hands over a small amount and then reports that the robber stole the entire day’s transactions. After discovering that Miles had duped him by giving him only change and keeping the majority of the money for himself, the Santa Claus thief, a sadistic psychopath named Arthur Reikle (Christopher Plummer), goes after Miles to reclaim what he believes is rightfully his, beginning a cat-and-mouse game between the two.
Based on a 1969 novel by Anders Bodelsen titled Think of a Number, Curtis Hanson’s screenplay for The Silent Partner is clever, fast-paced, and packed with enough twists and turns to keep you glued to the edge of your seat until the very end. However, what truly sets the film apart is Hanson’s ability to create distinctive and compelling characters who make the plot, despite its silliness, appear convincing. Miles is a loner who works as a bank teller, has a humdrum existence devoid of significant interests and aspirations, and the prospect of collecting tropical fish is the only thing that excites him. He’s attracted to his coworker, Julie (Susannah York), who finds him uninteresting and initially rejects his advances. It’s fascinating to learn what drives Miles to commit the robbery and take on a psychopath like Reikle, both of which go against his nature. It’s not like he’s in dire straits financially, enjoys robbing banks for a living, or has concrete plans to do anything with the money. He does it solely to provide some excitement in his life, and it works because after the robbery, when he makes a television appearance, people begin to find him intriguing—especially Julie. She is this confused woman who has an affair with her married boss but has no idea why she’s with him or whether she even likes him. Miles’ coolness under pressure attracts Julie’s attention, and she is willing to go out with him, but that doesn’t work out, and their relationship continues to ebb and flow throughout the film, making it fascinating to watch. Then there’s also Elaine (Celine Lomez), who becomes romantically involved with Miles (making Julie jealous), and despite appearing in the second act, Hanson’s tight screenplay establishes her character quickly and firmly without hampering the film’s momentum.
Reikle is a perfect antagonist for a film of this type; he reminds me of a less threatening version of Antoine Chigurh in No Country for Old Men (2007), who kills people simply for inconveniencing him. His sadistic and cruel nature is on full display in scenes like the one where he almost kills a woman by beating her to death in a rage after finding out that Miles has stolen the money or the one near the end where he brutally kills a person by sliding their head on a broken glass. On the other hand, Miles is cunning and shrewd and outsmarts Reikle on multiple occasions during the film, including predicting a trap set by Reikle while in prison. As a result, Miles’ intellect is pitted against Reikle’s savagery in this cat-and-mouse game between the two. Elliot Gould does a decent job of capturing every facet of Miles’ personality in his performance. However, while Reikle reads well on paper, I didn’t feel that Christopher Plummer’s portrayal did the character justice. Even though there are scenes aimed at showcasing Reikle as malicious and dangerous, Plummer’s performance is too bland and weak to communicate the character’s genuine lethal nature.
The Silent Partner movie links: IMDB, Letterboxd
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