Needful Things is an unexpected gem of a movie. I think its subtlety worked against it. Looking at the comments here, I think people missed the point of Max von Sydow's performance.
The plot is simple. Leland Grant (the Devil) moves into a small town and opens up a shop that can get you anything you want, but he'll ask you for a favor. The favors exploit tensions in the town, causing people to turn on each other.
Ed Harris is solid as the town sheriff, but he isn't given a lot to do, neither is his fiancée Bonnie Bedalia. This movie belongs to its the villains, the town politician J.T. Walsh unravels over the course of the movie, and von Sydow is utterly brilliant.
This would be an easy role to overact on. You could be the mustache twirling villain quite easily, but Leland Gaunt is grandfatherly, likable, a complete gentleman. As he manipulates and torments, he never seems sinister which makes it a much more complex and rewarding performance. I think it was quite a choice to play him that way, he really took something on paper, and made more of it.
Some movies are great in their entirety, and some just have great performances. The movie isn't perfect, but has a great performance.
The plot is simple. Leland Grant (the Devil) moves into a small town and opens up a shop that can get you anything you want, but he'll ask you for a favor. The favors exploit tensions in the town, causing people to turn on each other.
Ed Harris is solid as the town sheriff, but he isn't given a lot to do, neither is his fiancée Bonnie Bedalia. This movie belongs to its the villains, the town politician J.T. Walsh unravels over the course of the movie, and von Sydow is utterly brilliant.
This would be an easy role to overact on. You could be the mustache twirling villain quite easily, but Leland Gaunt is grandfatherly, likable, a complete gentleman. As he manipulates and torments, he never seems sinister which makes it a much more complex and rewarding performance. I think it was quite a choice to play him that way, he really took something on paper, and made more of it.
Some movies are great in their entirety, and some just have great performances. The movie isn't perfect, but has a great performance.