Written and directed by Peter Weir, The Plumber concerns psychotic plumber who terrorizes a grad student.
Grade: B
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It was originally made and broadcast as TV film in Australia in 1979, but was subsequently released to theatres, beginning with the US in 1981.
The film was made shortly after Weir’s critically acclaimed Picnic at Hanging Rock became one of the first Australian features to achieve international acclaim.
The film stars Judy Morris, Ivar Kants, and Robert Coleby, all notable actors in Australian soap operas.
The film opens as Dr. Brian Cowper (Robert Coleby) takes a shower in the flat he shares with his wife Jill (Judy Morris), an anthropology student.
As he exits on his way to work, an ominous character is seen entering and randomly choosing the button for the ninth floor. He announces himself as Max (Ivar Kants), the building’s plumber, assures that he is doing mandatory check of the pipes.
Once inside the bathroom, he starts to chip away at the tile under the sink, then takes loud shower. Meanwhile, Brian has been informed that a team from the World Health Organization is coming to interview him. He calls Jill and dismisses her concerns about Max.
Max’s odd, ominous behavior recurs throughout the film. He keeps finding excuses to visit the unit, and his work in the bathroom only makes a bigger mess each time.
As the Cowpers host officials for dinner, one of their guests gets himself trapped in the rigging and injures himself. The plumbing explodes, pouring fetid water all over the bathroom, and prompting the return of Max.
When the police arrest Max, they find items belonging to Jill. Max then screams at her that she set him up.
As writer and director, Weir shows penchant for diffusing terror in a claustrophobic setting (small bathroom) with droll black humor, and strong overtones of the thin line between civilized and primitive conduct caused by social class differences.
Michael Hanekes would make a thermically similar, but artistically stronger and better thriller in the 1997 Funny Games, which also concerned social class struggle and power issues between a bourgeois housewife and a group of hoodlums.
Cast
Judy Morris as Jill Cowper
Ivar Kants as Max
Robert Coleby as Brian Cowper
Candy Raymond as Meg
Henri Szeps as David Medavoy
Credits:
Written, directed by Peter Weir
Music by Rory O’Donoghue
Producer Matt Carroll
Cinematography David Sanderson
Editor Gerald Turney-Smith
Running time 76 minutes
