Sun December 13, 2020
Working Man at first seems to be yet another David and Goliath fable. Corporate America closes the last factory in a Midwest town and the employees rise up in protest. But, without warning, the ambling plot suddenly veers off-course. An unsuspecting audience is kidnapped and the story is turned on its head. Uncomplicated people become mysterious and the simple intrigues. It’s an original and most appealing tale.
Allery Parkes (Peter Gerety) lives with his devoted wife, Iola (Talia Shire) in a small town in the heart of the Rust Belt. He’s worked in the local factory his entire life and is blind-sided when he’s made redundant. He tries to find another job, but it’s futile and he quietly slips into crisis mode. The next day, he goes back to work at the abandoned factory. His wife is horrified and his neighbors are intrigued. Like Allery, they too lost their jobs and now have nothing more interesting to do than monitor their eccentric neighbor.