Spinning Man (2018)

Directed by: Simon Kaijser | 100 minutes | drama | Actors: Guy Pearce, Pierce Brosnan, Minnie Driver, Alexandra Shipp, Odeya Rush, Jamie Kennedy, Clark Gregg, Sean Blakemore, Eliza Pryor, Noah Salsbury Lipson, Jeannie Austin, Natasha Bassett, Sterling Beaumon, Patrika Darbo, Jennie Fahn, John Mariano , Irene Roseen, Carlo Rota, Donna Rusch, Freya Tingley, RJ Walker

‘Truth’ is a relative term. What is true for one person may not be true for another. That’s what Evan Birch (Guy Gearce), the popular philosophy teacher at a small provincial university, tells his students. He knows that his own words can be used against him. Especially as soon as he becomes the main suspect in a disappearance case that completely grips the dormitory town in which he lives and works. ‘Spinning Man’ (2018) is the feature film debut of Swedish director Simon Kaijser (not to be confused with the Volendam singer of practically the same name), who is known for series such as ‘Before We Die’ and ‘Life in Squares’. ‘Spinning Man’ could also have just been a stretched episode of a Scandinavian detective series, or so this film turns out to be. Screenwriter Matthew Aldrich based himself on George Harrar’s 2003 novel of the same name. With Pearce, Minnie Driver and Pierce Brosnan on board, Kaijser gained quite a bit of star power, although these are not necessarily actors who can take a film to a higher level. ‘Spinning Man’ is supposed to have a mysterious atmosphere and the creation of confusion. The film succeeds with flying colors in the latter, but that is not exactly a recommendation in this case.

Evan Birch is a barrel full of contradictions. A man who, in front of the outside world, leads a well-behaved family life with his wife Ellen (Minnie Driver) and two growing children, with a well-respected job as a philosophy professor and a nice house in a quiet suburb. Appearances, however, are deceiving. However, Evan isn’t all that well organized, and that side of his personality becomes increasingly apparent as he becomes involved in Detective Malloy’s (Pierce Brosnan) investigation into the disappearance of a 17-year-old cheerleader. Evans’ car was seen where the girl was last seen, but he firmly denies ever seeing her and initially refuses to hand over his car to the police for further investigation. It has now become clear to the viewer that Evan also has a soft spot for young girls: he can’t even normally go to a DIY store without fantasizing about the cashier and the university where he previously worked fired him for lewd behavior with a student. And something happened last semester with one of his current students, Anna (Alexandra Shipp). When his daughter also finds a lip gloss in the back of her father’s car and a hair from the missing Joyce turns up during the police investigation, the net closes around Evan. But did he actually lure the girl into his car, abuse and then kill the girl? Why does he think he can’t remember that (anymore)?

The choice of Pearce in the role of Evan Birch is a safe one; in Christopher Nolan’s ‘Memento’ (2000) he already showed that he can play shadowy types like no other, whose moral compass can go completely wrong through holes in the memory. There is always a feeling around Pearce that he is not getting the most out of his career and that has mainly to do with his choice of roles. He seems to be playing it safe too often. ‘Spinning Man’ is another safe choice: we now know that he can play smooth, arrogant creeps in mediocre, low-budget thrillers (Kaijser and Aldridge make good use of that). Because this role is so familiar to him, Pearce does not give anything extra. That little bit extra doesn’t have to come from Pierce Brosnan, he knows his limitations as an actor and plays an average detective who would be played out by many colleagues from BBC series. It is nicer to watch Minnie Driver, but her role is too limited to really distinguish herself. The same goes for the young Alexandra Shipp. The acting aside, a bigger obstacle to appreciating ‘Spinning Man’ is the script, which manages to build up the suspense nicely, but then makes some curious leaps and finally breaks its own glass with a plot twist that’s such a killer that little of the film remains. The final chord that follows is not only unnecessary but has the sole purpose of rekindling the viewer’s confusion, which does not work out at all as intended.

‘Spinning Man’ is typically one of those thrillers that plays with the viewer’s expectations, then throws all possible scenarios overboard and pulls a rabbit out of the top hat. It is only logical that the viewer then feels cheated. Pearce feels at home in these kinds of creepy roles and manages to guide us through the film in a routine way, but that his confusion is thrown (again) at amnesia seems cheap. Evan himself explains his mental state with empty phrases from his lectures on the philosophy of language, but to the disappointed audience that is simply a euphemism for deception and viewer deception.