Though The Angriest Man In Brooklyn may seem like a tough task to pin down to one guy – given all the grouchy gents tending to inhabit that Big Apple bustling outer borough, Robin Williams as the persistently pouting protagonist in question, sinks his teeth admirably into the cranky role. And when you drop into the mix Mila Kunis playing doctor with a bit of guilt tripping femme fatale tossed in, this modern day sort of Job does Flatbush bursts with equal parts forlorn and funny.
Williams is Henry Altmann, a perpetually crabby real estate broker having an especially really bad day, to say the least. His car has just been wrecked by a Russian immigrant hit and run cabbie who threatens to track him down and do away with him later on. And when turning up at a hospital to receive the results of his brain scan, the substitute doctor on duty (Mila Kunis as Dr. Gill) spitefully informs Altmann that he has a mere ninety minutes left to live, due to a dangerous brain aneurism.
A diabolical diagnosis on her part which has some truth to it, but is mostly an exaggeration lifted from a nearby magazine cover recommending ninety minutes to sufficiently bake a turkey breast, don’t ask. All due in part to Dr. Gill’s torrid secret affair with Altmann’s very married absentee physician giving her the brushoff, not to mention her beloved cat falling out the window the day before. Leading to the exasperated woman not in the mood for surly patients, then venting her rage on Altman by emotionally booting him into the afterlife. But with second thoughts, pursuing him all over Brooklyn to apologize and plead with the now suicidal man, to seek immediate medical attention.
A breathless anger mismanagement road movie of sorts – if you count chasing all around the borough’s back streets in part by hijacked taxi, The Angriest Man In Brooklyn has a whole lot more on its mind than hysterical end of life antics simply for laughs. Williams impresses mightily with a turbulent tide of conflicting emotions, as a man with deep seated resentment against the world and everybody around him. And channeling a complex array of compelling post-traumatic misfortunes while negotiating a furiously flaky role, in a struggle to make sense of overwhelming grief and despair. Even if outlandlishly annoying everyone else in sight.
Lonsgate Films
Rated R
4 out of 4 stars
To watch the trailer of The Angriest Man In Brooklyn:
