FILM REVIEW: HOBO WITH A SHOTGUN

Hobo (Rutger Hauer) in Hobo with a Shotgun.

Not taking the ride

By Don Simpson

I typically do not read reviews of films before I write my own, but in this instance I read everything about Hobo with a Shotgun that has been published to date on IMDB.com and Rotten Tomatoes and, I have to admit, I really do not understand why so many people are raving about it. And that, my friends, is why I hopped on this god forsaken “I hate Hobo with a Shotgun” bandwagon in the first place.

Hopping off a train — because that is where all hobos seem to come from -- the nameless Hobo (Rutger Hauer) finds himself in the ironically named Hope Town (the adopted moniker of ”Scum Town” seems more appropriate). Within minutes, the Hobo witnesses the über-violent antics of the cartoonish mob boss, The Drake (Brian Downey), who yanks off people’s heads, leaving their decapitated body dangling inside a manhole of a public street, all at the frightful bemusement of a public audience. Or maybe they are merely waiting for some scantily clad women to bathe in the blood? (They do not have to wait very long for that to happen.)

The Hobo also befriends a street smart, young prostitute, Abby (Molly Dunsworth), who he likes to believe is a chaste schoolteacher. The Hobo mutters some nonsensical diatribes about bears and eventually announces his intentions of doling out justice for the sake of the local townspeople. Hurray! The Hobo arms himself with his titular weapon — a shotgun purchased at a local pawn shop — and sets his sights on The Drake and The Drake’s two evil sons, Ivan (Nick Bateman) and Slick (Gregory Smith), plus The Plague. By this point, what little plot there was in the first act has dissolved into some sort of nonsensical violent lunacy.

In the film’s one moment of metaphoric thoughtfulness, a lawnmower is revealed as a symbol of suburban domestic tranquility for the Hobo, but once push comes to shove that fairytale is promptly exchanged for the shotgun. Otherwise, Hobo with a Shotgun gratuitously avoids any mental stimulation.

I do not have many favorable things to say about Hobo with a Shotgun, yet I still give writer-director Jason Eisener’s for one thing: Hauer. The casting of Hauer in this role was truly an inspired yet fleeting moment of genius. As for the supporting characters, Eisner should have just set up a bunch of cardboard cutouts of overused cinematic stereotypes and the effect would have been exactly the same. To be honest, I do not discredit the actors — my problem with the supporting characters rests in the shoddily contrived dialogue and utter lack of character development.