After asking on Facebook yesterday afternoon (4 April 2021) what the somewhat cumbersomely-titled movie The Man Who Killed Hitler And Then The Bigfoot was like, I received an extremely diverse spectrum of opinions, ranging from those who had loved it through those who had viewed it with indifference to those who had absolutely hated it. Consequently, I was still none the wiser in advance of my watching this movie last night on the British TV channel Film4, but having now done so I can definitely state that it was not at all what I was expecting.
Written, co-produced, and also directed by Robert D. Krzykowski, and released in 2018, in spite of its title much of The Man Who Killed Hitler And Then The Bigfoot (or TMWKHATTB for brevity hereafter) does not concern itself with how its lead character Calvin Barr killed Hitler when he, Calvin, was a young man (played by Aidan Turner) working as an undercover assassin in Germany for the U.S. government during WW2, or how he as an old man (Sam Elliott) killed the (last?) bigfoot.
Instead, at this thoughtful movie's heart is Calvin's undying love for his sweetheart, Maxine (Caitlin FitzGerald), whom he had known for all too short a period in his life, having been separated from her by the War not long after first meeting her, and then, once the War was finally over, discovering that she had unexpectedly passed away, at far too young an age.
Throughout the movie, Calvin as a reclusive, somewhat embittered old man reminisces about the past via flashbacks and contemplates on what might have been, what should have been, but never was, and how he had wasted precious time killing Hitler, whom the Nazis in secret simply replaced with lookalikes, the War thus continuing regardless. So he had sacrificed everything to achieve nothing, losing all that had mattered to him in the process.
Calvin lives alone now except for his faithful dog Ralph, his memories, some precious souvenirs of his tragically curtailed time with Maxine, and occasional visits to the local barber, who is his younger brother Ed (Larry Miller), for chats. TMWKHATTB is a slow-moving (occasionally a little too slow) study of a life that should have been lived in such a happier, more positive vein instead of the mere existence that it became and has remained after Maxine's death.
Accordingly, Hitler and the bigfoot are almost incidental in a deliberate slow-burner devoted to memory, nostalgia, and regret. I found TMWKHATTB extremely affecting, sad, very moving, downbeat yet somehow life-affirming too, with Sam Elliott putting in a truly outstanding performance throughout. TMWKHATTB is truly one of a kind – and I for one am glad to have viewed this movie.
As for cryptozoological readers curious to know more about the bigfoot in this movie: Calvin is coerced by the U.S. military to track it down and dispatch it within the fire-encircled area of forest in Canada where it is currently isolated, because it is carrying a deadly virus that has already killed a fair few people and a number of other animal species too, but to which, mystifyingly, Calvin is immune. As the bigfoot is invariably referred to in the singular, one must assume that it is the last specimen of its species, because to presume that there was only ever one specimen would be nonsensical.
When the bigfoot finally makes an appearance, it is seen to be bipedal but no taller than Calvin, with feet no larger than his (Calvin even specifically comments that its feet are not big when radioing in to his superiors at base), it is covered in reddish fur, and has a quite hideous, totally animalistic face, showing not the slightest trace of humanity. In short, it contrasts dramatically with the bigfoot of traditional cryptozoology, yet seemingly deliberately so (as evidenced by Calvin's radioed comment highlighting this contrast).
Don't be put off by this unconventional movie's strange title and associated premise – these are entirely secondary, almost peripheral in fact, to what is in reality a very poignant glimpse of mortality and a lonely man's stoic, resigned acceptance of it. If you'd like to see an official TMWKHATTB trailer on YouTube, please click here.
Finally, a 'did you know?' piece of TMWKHATTB trivia: following the making of this film, Aidan Turner and Caitlin FitzGerald became a couple in real life and have recently married – so there was a happy ending of sorts for Calvin and Maxine after all.
And to view a complete listing of all of my Shuker In MovieLand blog's other film reviews and articles (each one instantly accessible via a direct clickable link), please click HERE!
