Review: Mr. Patman

James Coburn is the title male nurse at a psychiatric facility where the rest of the staff aren’t as compassionate as he. Patman is also starting to crack at the seams psychologically and becoming paranoid. Meanwhile, Patman is juggling two affairs, one with a co-worker (Kate Nelligan) the other with a neglected landlord’s wife (Fionnula Flanagan). Blu Mankuma and Lois Maxwell have tiny roles.

 

One of the more obscure and certainly strangest films in the career of James Coburn, this poverty-stricken 1980 Canadian film from director John Guillermin (“The Blue Max”, “The Towering Inferno”) is also known in some quarters as “Crossover”. Scripted by Thomas Hedley Jr. (“Fighting Back”, “Flashdance”), it’s also known by the few people to have seen it as not very good. The early scenes depicting the heartless, cold hospital staff are at least something approaching interesting, and the film’s drab, made-in-Canada look is for once a plus. However, for the most part this is woefully inadequate, wildly inconsistent in tone, and often derivative. The patients are all “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” comedic stereotypes and we even get a “Cuckoo’s Nest” excursion scene that ends in abrupt sadness. Meanwhile, Coburn’s descent into madness seems to come out of nowhere, and the conclusion leaves little of anything resolved. It wants to be ironic, but it’s just horribly botched. Coburn’s mediocre performance still ends up being one of the best things here by default. He’s done much better elsewhere, but has his moments here. The best performance is by Fionnula Flanagan, who also gets naked briefly if you’re into that kind of thing. Kate Nelligan is badly wasted and makes zero impression.

 

A film where James Coburn plays a hospital nurse whom women throw themselves at should be a lot more interesting than this. It’s not the director’s worst film (“King Kong” for my money), but it’s a dreary, tonal mess all the same. Made during a not very good period in star James Coburn’s career it’s easy to see why this one has been forgotten along with films like “High Risk” and “Looker”.

 

Rating: D+