The Minus Man

Plot synopsis:
Vann Siegert (Owen Wilson) is a serial killer who poisons his victims; he explains that he feels he is helping them and that they die without pain. After killing a heroin addict named Casper (Sheryl Crow) he met at a bar, he makes her death look like an overdose and moves on to a new town. The next day, he arrives at the home of Doug and Jane Durwin (Brian Cox and Mercedes Ruehl). He rents out the room of their missing daughter. Doug recommends he look for work at the post office, as they are hiring seasonal help for Christmas.
Vann is shown retrieving a kit from under his car. It contains the poison he uses on his victims, which he places in a flask and fills with amaretto.
Doug takes Vann to a high school football game, where he meets a star athlete and his family. A few days later, Vann offers the boy a ride and murders him, burying his body on a beach. While he is digging the grave, Vann has an imaginary conversation with two detectives, Blair and Graves (Dwight Yoakam and Dennis Haysbert) who stand over him, asking taunting questions about his methods. Throughout the film, Vann has imaginary conversations with two detectives.
Vann helps the town search for the missing athlete and even attends his memorial service. Vann reveals that the murder of the footballer broke two of his personal rules: don't kill anyone you know, and don't kill anyone from your town.
His ties to the community grow as he is given more responsibility at the post office. One of his co-workers, Ferrin (Janeane Garofalo), sheepishly pursues him. Doug drives Ferrin to the beach. The pair exchange an awkward hug, directly over the spot where Vann buried the high school football player.
On Christmas Day, Vann goes to a diner and chooses another victim (Meg Foster). She invites him to her home, where he sees that she is a painter. Something about her work disturbs him and he flees. Vann returns to the diner and slips poison into the water of a man (Lew McCreary) eating alone. An autopsy reveals that the death was the result of a rare poison derived from tree bark fungus found in the Pacific Northwest. The poison is then linked with the murder of Casper. The young athlete's body is found and also linked to the same poison. Vann knows that the police will eventually tie the murders to him. While looking in the mirror, he pulls hairs off his jacket and puts them in an envelope on which he writes 'FERRiN'.
Jane is found dead from a blow to the back of the head. The police suspect Doug, but Vann is worried that the increased scrutiny from another murder will lead the police to him. During a date with Ferrin, he tries to initiate sex by assaulting her. She is terrified, and Vann leaves.
The next day, the police arrive and arrest Doug for the murder of Jane. Vann packs his things. Before he leaves town, he puts his postal uniform and the envelope marked "FERRiN", containing the sample of his hair, in a mailbox. The film ends as he drives on the highway, saying that he that he wants to lead a more regular life once he gets to wherever he is going. He is pursued by a cop who had earlier approached him on the beach. After taking a good look with her spotlight, she smiles at him and takes the right fork in the road, while Vann takes the left.

Tags: violence, murder, home movie

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