The Glass Man

1. The Glass Man. *****

Directed by Cristian Solimeno, The Glass Man follows the story a desperate family man whose life is put into his own hands in one fateful night as he crosses barriers no man would ever hope to have to face. Martin Pyrite has lost his job and finds himself in huge financial difficulties. Instead of being honest with his wife, Martin hides his monetary problems, becoming trapped in a world of guilt and pride. But when Martin is on the brink of desperation, he is visited late one night by a debt collector with an offer; an offer he decides he can’t refuse. If Martin helps him carry out a task that night his financial debts will be wiped clean and his angst diminished. However, what this task entails catapults Martin into his own private and uncontrollable hell where he is forced to confront his fears in a mesmerising vortex of soul-destroying madness. Solimeno successfully captures the mindset of a broken man during a desperate struggle in an all too-familiar society of repression. We find ourselves unwillingly immersed into Martin’s pain and fear as he plummets deeper and deeper into his tragic destiny in this psychological thriller. Andy Nyman delivers an empowering on-screen presence throughout this chilling story, effectively playing a man on the brink whom the audience are immediately emotionally connected to. Nyman very ably carries the movie almost single-handedly, although is helped by the scary and striking character of Pecco, played superbly by James Cosmo, who provides him with plenty of opposition and difficulties to work with. Nyman’s spellbinding presence is undoubtedly a life-time performance which will be remembered for a long time to come.

After viewing Solimeno’s film, you find yourself picking out what appeared to be irrelevant detail in the earlier scenes and realising how it actually becomes exquisite to the plot as its twists and turns unravel.

I feel lucky to have been able to witness the World Premiere of this film and it noticeably left a mark on the rest of the audience. This really is a film not to be missed.