One Man (1977)

Director:

Robin Spry

Writers:

Peter Pearson (writer)
Robin Spry (writer)

Release Date:

July 1979 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

A crusading TV reporter finds his life ripped apart as he investigates a story about a company's deadly criminal negligence.

Plot Keywords:

Canada | Public Health | Big Business | Television Industry | Corporate Crime

Awards:

2 wins

Cast

Len Cariou	...	Jason Brady
Jayne Eastwood	...	Alicia Brady
Carol Lazare	...	Marion Galbraith
Barry Morse	...	Colin Angus Campbell
August Schellenberg	...	Ernie
Jean Lapointe	...	Ben Legault
Sean Sullivan	...	Rodney
Terry Haig	...	Dr. Gendron
Marc Legault	...	Léo
Danny Freedman	...	Hoodlum
Gilles Renaud	...	Hoodlum
Robert V. Girolami	...	T.V. Announcer
Jacques Godin	...	Jaworski
Donovan Hare	...	Donovan
Kevin Hare	...	Kevin

Also Known As:

Un homme (Canada: French title)

Runtime:

87 min

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:12 | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Montréal, Québec, Canada

Company:

National Film Board of Canada (NFB)

Trivia:

Len Cariou's film debut.

an intriguing ecological thriller

Robin Spry's ONE MAN predates several other films made about the effects of factories poisoning the communities that surround them, and it still stands up well as a strong thriller. Len Cariou gives a good performance as a headstrong TV news journalist whose investigating of mob warfare in Montreal brings him to a local hospital one day. It is there he meets a young social worker (Carole Lazare) who points him in the direction of a potent story nobody seems to care about: the alarming child mortality rate in a community surrounding a large factory. The company that owns the factory denies any level of responsibility, but as the investigation deepens lives become seriously jeopardized. The film's resolution was not one that I had predicted, and is more in line with a 70's sense of pessimism.

ONE MAN was produced by the National Film Board of Canada (and it is available on VHS through them), and benefits both from an intelligent script and sharp direction by Spry. Cariou's character evolves in different ways during the course of the film; he's a flawed hero who is guilty of bad judgement and moral mistakes, but ultimately seeks redemption in the truth. There is also a pleasing performance by Jayne Eastwood as his increasingly bitter wife, and some interesting work by veteran actor Barry Morse as the head of the factory.