User Reviews

Pleasantly interesting human-interest story centered on the theme of "Loss". Though the Loss here is prominently Work, the central characters, Allery, Walter & Iola also share deeper losses that will eventually bring them closer together. Sometimes you need to look inward to find solutions to Today's challenges, but deeper still to conquer the long-term impediments to True Happiness - the most enduring take-away from this little tale.

This is a gentle movie, about people, work and our minds. Nice for a rainy evening.

I tuned in for Peter Gerety, an extraordinarily gifted actor, and was pleased to find that Billy Brown absolutely held his own, and then some, as his co-star. The movie also has its heart in the right place-- with the working class-- and it has a fairly fresh idea, with an unpredictable plot, and characters who are not one-dimensional, including not just laborers at the plastics plant (stay tuned for more on plastic), but management and corporate, too.

My frustrations may seem minor, but I think the movie was undermined by two bad decisions.

First, the imbalance of dialog between Brown as Walter Brewer and Gerety as Allery Parkes. Brewer is charismatic and talkative which is a stark difference from Parkes, who is given less than the bare minimum of lines to make him seem real. Gerety couldn't be better, but he's handicapped by the writing. His character shut down after his son's suicide, but to a degree that doesn't help the film: it's unnecessarily severe. When a character is that withdrawn, I always wonder why anybody bothers to stick around-- including me.

Second, and this may seem petty, but I'm serious: Talia Shire had no business playing Mrs. Parkes. I'm not talking about her acting ability. I'm talking about her plastic face: the amount of cosmetic surgery she has obviously had undermines every scene she's in, especially when she's counting coupons at the grocery store. Once a performer gets that much work done, they forfeit the right to play a working stiff, or his wife.

This is a beautifully made film. The whole package is very well put together. Although its quite a simple tale of a factory closing and the impact on its workforce , particularly the main characters , it doesn't lead you to the rosy promised land and instead focuses on the characters personalities and life problems. Its main strength lies in its casting , with Peter Gerety putting in a superb performance , ably backed up by Talia Shire and Billy Browm. If you like human interest films it's well worth watching.

It has beautiful and emotional idea but the acting is weak , weak scenario, and there is no good conversations or qoutes , bad direction.

I am generally really hard on movies this is the first 10 star I have ever given, and I will tell you why. This movie touches on so many bases I will tell you what they are without giving any spoilers. Which is hard because I want to tell you my favorite parts but can't without ruining the story. This is a story about love, family, hard work, loss and kindness to your fellow man. I would add one more thing it had different races and even a transexual. None of this was to be P/C they were all in this because they were part of the story not forced in to just cover P/C bases. Proving what I have said all along you can have different races, genders and people who are of different sexual orientation if you write a good script in this case a great script. No one felt like they were put in this movie because they had to put them in there just to be P/C. They had two starring characters one white and one black and their race never came up why ? In reality not in P/C world if you make a friend of another race you don't see their race you see your friend. I am from a mixed family myself and I don't look at my family as a different race I see people I love. Let me be clear this movie isn't about race at all its about human beings and their stories. The fact that they wrote it this way and I thoroughly enjoy it Is sad and its happy its a roller coaster of emotions. I can't say anything else without giving up a part of the movie. I will just say this is a drama a well casted, a well written and a extremely well acting job by the whole cast I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Great film. The thematic aspects are spot on with great sound design and cinematography. The main themes follow finding meaning in work and being there for someone who is struggling and are portrayed wonderfully. Only nitpicks are a few botched deliveries, occasional generic editing and on again off again pacing. Overall a powerful movie that blossoms right before your eyes

Peter Gerety is a GREAT actor. It was nice to finally see him get a lead role. Too bad the director ruined with it a score he apparently borrowed from a 1980s animated kids movie and insisted on repeating over virtually every scene, including dialogue. If it were re-released without that score it'd be way better. Please get Peter Gerety a good director stat!

Robert Jury's mesmerizing film, WORKING MAN, is a gut-wrenching and timely portrait of a factory worker, Allery Parkes, movingly and masterfully portrayed by Peter Gerety. The plastics factory where Allery works has shut down and his life is left without a sense of purpose. As his days pass slowly, Allery begins trudging back to the closed and empty plant trying to fill his void. His journey each day takes him toward what he has always sought - a sense of purpose and worth that comes from knowing that what you do matters in this world. During this pandemic which has left multiple unsettlingly voids in all our lives, Allery's odyssey intimately becomes our own journey to unearth what matters most and what truly gives purpose. WORKING MAN is a quietly unforgettable and searing personal experience.

An intriguing portrayal of a simple, mid-western, working class man as he grapples with loss and changes in his life that force him to go on an inner journey of re-discovery. Peter Gerety's performance is captivating, and Billy Brown has a commanding and inspiring screen presence. Definitely a must see!

This movie is a wasted great opportunity to say something on workers, dying towns in the USA, and in general capitalism. It doesn't say anything about any of those topics, and it draws the frame in a personal and emotional perspective! I am glad we have directors like Ken Loach so we know better!

This movie grabbed my attention because of Peter Gerety. His acting is pretty good and it is the only reason I finished this movie. Script is pretty weak with weak conversations, and drama here and there. Working man totally misses the anguish of being jobless. I loved some of the acting, but the message was cold and hollow.

This movie was definitely an eye catcher it draws you in slowly and keeps you interested. I found so many different emotions that relate to real life and what some people don't get to see. Having families that struggle because corporate America changes things or the fact that mental stability can change for someone who doesn't even understand depression. All around a beautiful movie I give working man hands down 5 stars.

Fantastic film with great message in the end. Couldn't ask anything more.

This film is quiet and, yes, sad. But it is so full of hope and shows the best in us as humans - and some the worst. But without the worst, how could we be our best? And the best wins out in this one. The actors are real, the town and factory are gritty. There's nothing pretty about it, but so many wonderful things happen ......... ever so slowly. Reviewers who say it isn't realistic haven't had any experience with the main topics of this film - it's all very real. It lets us know we aren't alone.

A real movie about plausibly real people. Not a fake Hwood tale about fake AF people and fake AF scenarios. Thought provoking, sad, funny, nostalgic. Great movie. Thank you Robert Jury and all involved. Sad that Luciferian shills have no lives and attacked this movies rating.

Although filmed in 2018, well before the current global pandemic, "Working Man" presents themes that could not be more relevant to our times. It is a powerful microcosm of the enormous challenges faced by the average worker when their job no longer exists. The film artfully focuses on the psychological effects, even trauma, associated with finding ways to fill the day after a lifetime of punching a clock. Peter Gerety artfully portrays a man utterly lost without his job that has defined him for most of his adult life. And Talia Shire, a reliably skilled and seasoned actress, softly but powerfully walks the line between allowing her husband to explore his options, odd as they may be, and empowering him to do the right thing for himself, his family and most especially his fellow workers. The larger story of how a factory closure can devastate a small town yields to the even more significant theme of standing by others to achieve positive change against all odds. In a very gritty and realistic manner, the film allows us to experience the angst, even desperation of the main characters but does not leave us without hope and that is what makes it so relevant to our times. Talia Shire's character understands the empowerment of loyalty to those who stand by you and the need to courageously take the next best step and do the right thing even when all seems to be lost.

The sometimes oppressive feel of life in small town America that permeates much of the film, is superbly offset and balanced by the much larger themes of personal fortitude, perseverance and pride in oneself and in others. The idea that solutions to larger problems can come from a very few smaller individuals is very well illustrated and leaves the audience feeling uplifted by the possibilities when individuals join together across racial or ethnic lines for the greater good. It teaches a valuable lesson about the need to empower each other to overcome even the greatest obstacles. It also demonstrates that one's greatest fears need not derail them permanently provided they remain sensitive to the needs of those around them. Out of the very humdrum routine of everyday life can emerge the most powerful and inspiring themes that elevate a person well above what might appear to be an uninspired life. Inspiration can come at any time in one's life most especially for those who stay the course without allowing their circumstances to defeat or fully define them.

In the end, this film is a successfully and warmly drawn story of the how the human spirit can triumph even in the darkest of times particularly for those who are not afraid to stand up for what is right and the subsequent re-birth that occurs for those who stay the course and not allow themselves to be defeated or taken out by the curveballs in life. It is a credible tale of personal redemption and a reminder that it is never too late to make a difference or to change the trajectory of one's life and the lives of those around us. In short, a realistically uplifting tale for our times.

This movie was beautiful. Bravo to all the actors, producers writer, director for telling THIS story which so many creatives in Hollywood shy away from. Heartbreaking yet simple, so full of complex characters. Authentic and real from start to finish. It's also a coming-of-age film about the second adolescence of men at retirement age who must find a way to define themselves when the structure of work has been stripped away. Do yourself a favor a watch

This movie...it moves so slowly in the begining, and tales its time revealing the characters toyou. It's a character study that starts frorm the outside, and works its way in. You meet this man who just works in a factory, and seems to live a very dreay life. And, as you watcy the film, you get to know this man from his behavior, not what he says. He says so little, but you do get to undertsand him. And, see him develop as a character. The film is about how we CAN and should change, and grow, and how life is really about change and growth. We meet a man who is on the cusp of total loss, and moves to the potential height of having it all back. And, then you see him grow. What a lovely, lovely film. It made me laugh, cry, and think. Has made me really think.

Beautiful moving story of pain and redemption.

Yes it's sad about US factories closing, but this movie is about AWESOME CHARACTERS.

This film has so much heart. My wife and I were really moved. The cinematography and score were great. It does move at a slow pace but it's exactly what we like. The characters were so real and really brought emotion to the screen.

As my review title states, some of the reviewers just don't get it. Don't listen to them. Judge for yourself.

Thank you Peter Gerety, Billy Brown and Talia Shire for OUTSTANDING performances and Robert Jury (the Writer/Director) who knocked it out of the park on his debut!

Robert Drury's Working Man is an ode to the resilience, dedication, and determination of American workers to find purpose, community, and pride in the ties that bind them - their work, our work. The movie's thematic resonance to today, a moment when essential workers' often overlooked contributions to our daily life and macro-survival are coming to the forefront of cultural conversation, is undeniable. Drury has assembled a beautiful cast, headed by Peter Gerety as the resplendently laconic Allery, Talia Shire as his multi-valently dutiful wife Iola, and Billy Brown as the spellbindingly troubled Walter. Drury, as writer and director, has calibrated the narrative pacing of this film perfectly to seduce audiences into thinking they are in for one type of narrative, then gracefully yet arrestingly negating those expectations for an ending that is by turns tragic, affirming, and emotionally fulfilling.

This movie is expertly scripted and edited. What it leaves unsaid is as important what is said. An impactful story of humble bravery, unexpected friendships and family second chances.