So i gave it a ten. not that that'll make up for the ones that didn't like it. this movie, imo, is flawless...and surprising. it has moments of writing brilliance, PERfectly portrayed. it's VERY easy to see why pacino picked this role. even holly hunter was different than anything(not much) i've seen her in in the last 10 years...a nice change. that's all i'm going to say about this except that i got up outta bed after the movie was over, turned on this heap and waited for it to fire up JUST so that i could write this...i doubt, these years later, anyone will read it. but it deserved to be said...this movie is an indie movie lover's dream...

Al Pacino plays an elderly locksmith in a small Texas town, living alone with his sick cat and writing romantic letters to a loved one he lost years ago, who begins a new friendship with bank teller Holly Hunter. Jittery, downbeat, occasionally somewhat surreal character portrait begins interestingly enough, but soon drops the ball. Director David Gordon Green and screenwriter Paul Brad Logan don't give the protagonist enough to do; he gambles, he works, he eats alone (where the other restaurant patrons appear to stare at him), he visits his wealthy "son of a prick" son...all the while the camera circling him, questioningly (the camera-work is busier than he is). As Manglehorn the locksmith, Pacino fills the bill, though at times he appears to have question marks on his face that show either an apprehension of the material or a lack of faith in it. *1/2 from ****

My wife and I watched this at home via Netflix streaming movies. Al Pacino plays the title role as Mr Manglehorn. He is a busy locksmith in this fictitious Texas town, filmed in and around Austin, Texas. He has an obsession, it has been going on for years, writing letters to his Clara back East. He never hears back, mostly the letters get returned for inability to deliver.It isn't made clear if Clara is in fact still alive, it seemed to me she must be deceased. But years earlier Manglehorn threw away his chances for a lasting relationship with Clara, who we only see in a few old photos, and this has been eating at him for all those years, making it virtually impossible for him to form any genuine relationships.So this movie is about that, can Manglehorn somehow get past all this in his twilight years? Good as his current interest is Holly Hunter as Dawn. She is a teller at the local bank and when Manglehorn goes to deposit his money he always waits to be served by her. Somewhat surprisingly she has taken an interest in this unkempt, often gruff, older man. In a funny scene when they are out on a date later she asks if he wants to take a bath with her and he doesn't know how to respond so he changes the subject.Chris Messina is good in a small role as Manglehorn's somewhat estranged son Jacob, a successful financial professional. Overall an interesting, sometimes quirky character study.

"I didn't mean to scare you last night. But what am I gonna do, sometimes I get crazy." A.J. Manglehorn (Pacino) is a locksmith who is in love with a woman who he lost a few years ago. He spends his days eating at the same places, doing the same things and caring for his cat. When he meets Dawn (Hunter) he thinks he found someone he has something in common with, she thinks it is much more. Now Manglehorn is forced to reexamine his life and decide what he truly wants to be. I am a huge Pacino fan and was looking forward to watching this one. I was not surprised at how great his acting was. He played someone along the lines of his role in People I Know, someone who is barely holding it together and someone that makes you wonder if he is a good guy or not. The reason I talk about that is because he is the reason to watch this. The movie is good, but a little too over produced. There are a ton of cuts and the movie always seems to be moving. It doesn't really fit the quiet, reserved role that Pacino plays. It's hard to explain unless you watch this. Overall, another great performance by Pacino that seems not to mesh with the pace and feel of the movie. It almost feels like the director tried to prove something, rather than let the acting and writing speak for itself. I give this a B-.