A Shock to the System

An unpretentious and perhaps somehow perversely relaxing film, in which I was once again rooting for Michael Caine's character, although this time he is definitely not a good guy. He plays a man who, disgusted by the fact that a colleague has been promoted instead of him at work and that his wife is an annoying witch, decides to solve these problems. It should be noted that he does so quite radically. The black comedy spectacle that begins to unfold is not terribly revelatory (if the script had been turned into an episode of Columbo, it would have been one of those mediocre ones), but it is genuinely entertaining in many moments (most of which occur during the first half - the scattering of the ashes from the urn, for example), which of course is due to the main character. Whether Caine is having a goofy happy time, singing his heart out, or just growling at a colleague/supervisor in a very angry (and, it should be noted, scary) manner, you believe it. Many a grey film has been lit up by this master's presence... And A Shock to the System is one of them. Three and a half. (25.08.2012)