Bartleby (***)
review by joe swanberg

Crispen Glover stars as Bartleby in this modern adaptation of a Herman Melville story. After taking a new job at a public records office where David Paymer plays his boss and Joe Piscopo and Maury Chaykin his co-workers, Bartleby begins to act very strange. When his boss asks him to perform certain tasks he replies with, "I'd prefer not to." Stunned by this respopnse, Paymer doesn't know what to do with Bartleby and becomes content with letting him stare at the air conditioning vent in the ceiling.

A short introduction before the film informs us that Melville steered away from adventure stories in his later years and began writing morality tales. These stories were extremely unpopular, and by the time of his death, nobody knew who he was. This is obvioulsy before Moby Dick was rediscovered and hailed as a classic. It is easy to see why a story like Bartleby would be unpopular, but the film is handled very well, and the morality aspect is blended nicely with a twisted sense of humor.

Glover is great as Barlteby, but Chaykin is the real standout playing Ernie, one of the office workers. He plays a Vietnam vet who takes questions like, "how is it going?" seriously and seems fed up with the fakeness of the modern world. Prone to odd explosions of dialogue and strange behavior, Chaykin had me laughing so hard my stomach hurt. I missed at least five minutes of the film because I was still laughing at something he did in the previous scene.

Paymer too gives a standout performance as the nervous, polite boss who can't understand Bartleby, but is too shy and confused to confront him about his lack of motivation and his preferences. Not knowing whether he is justified in firing Bartleby based on his preference not to work, Paymer struggles throughout the film with workplace ethics and personal feelings. Glenne Headly, who plays the secretary, is first intimidated by Bartleby's presence in the office, but soon dismisses him and seems to forget he is even there. She turns her attention to Frank Waxman, the city inspector, quietly played by Seymour Cassel. Headly's acting is great, and she really livens up the sometimes slow film.

The length becomes a bit of a problem toward the end of the film, but Bartleby is short enough to not become tedious. If the film were 60 minutes instead of 90, it would be near perfect. Competing against the summer blockbusters, hopefully Bartleby can attract an audience of moviegoers looking for something a little different, but just as good as any Hollywood powerhouse.

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