I was struck by the idea that repo work gives Otto a shape before it gives him a belief. That feels like one of the essay’s deepest character insights. He is not converted first by doctrine, money, or even mystery, but by posture: suit, keys, rooms that change when he walks in, people who suddenly answer his presence. The job teaches him how to stand before it teaches him what to think. That is also why the world of the film feels so dangerous: identity arrives through performance before anyone has time to ask what the performance is doing to the person wearing it. The title “repo man” becomes a costume that starts fitting too well.
I really enjoyed this deep dive into a favorite movie of mine! Even when I first saw this film as a kid, the Malibu represented a kind of brutal and pure enlightenment. The glowing car (or the thing in its trunk) was a violent rejection of those following the traditional rigid rules of established society, but also the shallow reactive rebelliousness of those on the periphery, following their own set of rules and roles. Miller gets it.
I have always been fascinated by the career of director Alex Cox. After this stunning Repo Man entry, we got a mixed reception at Sid & Nancy (though I do like this film) and then…some pretty bad movies. I know one hit wonders happen but a filmmaker who can make a film as cool as Repo Man (and it is undeniably cool) never found anywhere close to the magic he created there. Perhaps some disagree with his work post Repo, but one does wonder if there was something he couldn’t find again do to personal problems or something more hard to single out than his creative ability? Or was this just it? Every great idea he has he just put in the masterpiece? There’s hope. There’s a long gestating Repo Man 2 script in development. Maybe he’ll find it again
I was struck by the idea that repo work gives Otto a shape before it gives him a belief. That feels like one of the essay’s deepest character insights. He is not converted first by doctrine, money, or even mystery, but by posture: suit, keys, rooms that change when he walks in, people who suddenly answer his presence. The job teaches him how to stand before it teaches him what to think. That is also why the world of the film feels so dangerous: identity arrives through performance before anyone has time to ask what the performance is doing to the person wearing it. The title “repo man” becomes a costume that starts fitting too well.
I really enjoyed this deep dive into a favorite movie of mine! Even when I first saw this film as a kid, the Malibu represented a kind of brutal and pure enlightenment. The glowing car (or the thing in its trunk) was a violent rejection of those following the traditional rigid rules of established society, but also the shallow reactive rebelliousness of those on the periphery, following their own set of rules and roles. Miller gets it.
Maybe that’s why Miller matters. He’s one of the few people who approaches the trunk without trying to convert it into a role.
I have always been fascinated by the career of director Alex Cox. After this stunning Repo Man entry, we got a mixed reception at Sid & Nancy (though I do like this film) and then…some pretty bad movies. I know one hit wonders happen but a filmmaker who can make a film as cool as Repo Man (and it is undeniably cool) never found anywhere close to the magic he created there. Perhaps some disagree with his work post Repo, but one does wonder if there was something he couldn’t find again do to personal problems or something more hard to single out than his creative ability? Or was this just it? Every great idea he has he just put in the masterpiece? There’s hope. There’s a long gestating Repo Man 2 script in development. Maybe he’ll find it again