TL;DR – It has its moments, and it very much lands its vibe, but there is an intensity that loses its impact halfway through.

Corner Office Review –

Today we are looking at a film that I can’t quite place into the world of genre’s it is not quite a comedy, or a drama, or even a mystery. It has elements of all of those, but not enough to categories it. The only thing I can say is that it is a film about facial hair, and how there is probably a reason those styles are not popular anymore.

So to set the scene, we open in a car park covered in a layer of snow as the wind howls around. Orson (Jon Hamm) is arriving for their first day at work at The Authority Inc. in a large brutalist building. He is trying to stand out in the office, which is full of quirky characters, including his tablemate Rakesh (Danny Pudi). One day, while trying to find where they hid the printer paper, he stumbled across a room Orson had never seen before: a beautiful corner office. The room calls to him, like a forbidden lover, a place worthy of who he thinks he is, even if that does not match reality. The only problem is that no one else acknowledges that the room even exists.  

This is an odd duck of a film that is working in a very particular style that is either going to vibe with you or push you away immediately. The visual style is a hodgepodge of eras reminiscent of Sex Education. The clothing says the 1970s, the office feels like it was out of a 1960s infomercial, and the building is peak 1980s concrete, all while they are using modern technology. This added to the odd vibe of the content and the musical score, creates a very off-putting feel to the proceedings.     

I do think Jon Hamm is putting in a good performance as Orson, given how personable I know he can be and how unlikeable Orson was. Orson is a man who thinks he is the boss even though he is just one of the plebs like everyone else, which would be frustrating to be around for his colleagues even before we get to the room. Christopher Heyerdahl is, of course, a delight, and he has a way of captivating every scene he is in. However, you can feel that they fundamentally underused Danny Pudi.

There is a real uncanniness to this film that I think is only partly on purpose. Indeed, there is the undercurrent of wondering if the room is real or not. Who is lying? Who is manipulating who? What the hell are they doing at this building? This mystery has the power to get you through some, but not all, of the film. But the more it goes on, the more there are diminishing returns. I think part of that comes from the intensity that is created by the constant narration from Orson, which becomes unrelenting as we go on. I did find myself disconnecting from the film as it progressed, but I think they recovered a bit with that ending.

In the end, do we recommend Corner Office? Well, it does have its moments, and the cast is engaging, if slightly off-putting. However, it never quite landed for me. If you liked Corner Office, we would recommend to you The Portable Door.

By Brian MacNamara: You can follow Brian on Twitter Here, when he’s not chatting about Movies and TV, he’ll be talking about International Relations, or the Solar System.

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Credits – All images were created by the cast, crew, and production companies of Corner Office
Directed by – Joachim Back
Screenplay by – Ted Kupper
Based on – The Room by Jonas Karlsson
Music by – Frans Bak & Keld Haaning Ibsen
Cinematography by – Paweł Edelman
Edited by – James Norris
Production/Distribution Companies – Lionsgate, Grindstone Entertainment Group, Tilt9 Entertainment, Goldenlight Films, Anonymous Content, Space Pilot Media & Eagle Entertainment
Starring – Jon Hamm, Danny Pudi, Sarah Gadon, Christopher Heyerdahl, Allison Riley, Bill Marchant, Kimberley Shoniker, Shawn MacDonald & Veena Sood
Rating –Australia: M; United Kingdom: 12A; United States: PG-13