REVIEW
The Man in the Black Suit
Posted: February 2, 2004
The Man in the Black Suit is the latest Dollar Baby (at least that I know of). As you probably know a Dollar Baby is a movie done with the rights to it bought from King for $1. It's not allowed for the filmmaker to commercially show it though so not many of them reach the general public.Nicholas Mariani did a Dollar Baby last year and now I have watched it. It's a 19 minutes movie that has basically the same plotline as King's story. There are some changes made to where and how things happen in the story.
One thing that is left out is the fact that Gary falls to sleep in King's story, here he doesn't. That may not seam like a big deal but since it's a must if you're going to argue that Gary might have dreamt the whole thing I feel it should have been included…
When you judge a Dollar Baby you must remember that it's a work of love with (often) very little money compared to the big movies based on King's stories. So even though you can see that the actors / actress is amateurs they do a pretty decent job. I like John Viener (who plays the Devil) the best. He gives you that devilish look from time to time…We also get some of those classical movie continuity mistakes in the movie. Personally I think that they are pretty fun but I know that others hate them but whether you like or hate them, remember that they always happens, even in such big productions as Lord of the Rings.
At one time we see Gary's mother dead on the floor with her eyes closed. In the next scene the eyes are open. Not bad for a dead woman… In another scene where Gary is running away from the Devil he loses his hat. Then when he runs away the next time the hat is on his head until the next clip when it's gone again.
Lilja's final words about The Man in the Black Suit
So, how should I summarize The Man in the Black Suit? It's neither the best or the worst Dollar Baby made. It's biggest problem is that you never get the feeling that Gary is scared to death for the Devil like he is in the book. Some of those feelings you get from reading the story are lost because of that. Even so, if you get a chance to see The Man in the Black Suit, take it. It's a movie well worth viewing!
Interview with Stephen King 2007
