"Malcolm" is one of those movies I saw as a child and have never forgotten, but hadn't rewatched. There were three key moments that stayed in my memory: one, the should-be iconic shot of the car splitting in two working halves in the middle of the police chase; two, the scene where the John Hargreaves character demonstrates how he robs banks and gets hit over the head with a shovel by a guy who thinks he's really robbing Malcolm and his girlfriend; and three, the explanation his girlfriend supplies to Malcolm about why he is the way he is, a chilling urban-legend-like tale involving an escaped murderer and a severed head.
And who could forget the next scene, where Malcolm casually asks the disturbed criminal what they did with the head when they buried the body.
Yes, in today's world people would assume Malcolm is autistic, due to his social ineptitude and his mechanical genius. I don't believe his eccentricities are ever really explained in the movie.
In fact, the characters all remain kind of undeveloped. Legendary Australian actor John Hargreaves plays the ex-jailbird, and one of our most dependable performers plays Malcolm. Hargreaves is sort of creepy in the role; maybe too believable as a disturbed criminal, because this is pretty much a family movie. The tale of what happened to his father is presumably supposed to humanise him, but it mostly makes him more scary. His girlfriend also doesn't emerge with much of a personality.
The focal point in "Malcolm" isn't the characters, it's the gadgets. And if you're somebody who loves gadgets, "Malcolm" is a movie you don't want to miss.
And who could forget the next scene, where Malcolm casually asks the disturbed criminal what they did with the head when they buried the body.
Yes, in today's world people would assume Malcolm is autistic, due to his social ineptitude and his mechanical genius. I don't believe his eccentricities are ever really explained in the movie.
In fact, the characters all remain kind of undeveloped. Legendary Australian actor John Hargreaves plays the ex-jailbird, and one of our most dependable performers plays Malcolm. Hargreaves is sort of creepy in the role; maybe too believable as a disturbed criminal, because this is pretty much a family movie. The tale of what happened to his father is presumably supposed to humanise him, but it mostly makes him more scary. His girlfriend also doesn't emerge with much of a personality.
The focal point in "Malcolm" isn't the characters, it's the gadgets. And if you're somebody who loves gadgets, "Malcolm" is a movie you don't want to miss.