When Graham leaves it behind at the scene of the boat explosion, it becomes incriminating evidence that could send him to prison. Chekhov's Gun: The souvenir lighter that Graham's friend George gave him.Catchphrase Graham develops one based on his old reputation as a corporate wizard with the nickname of 'Merlin' in his heyday:.

Big Bad: Graham Marshall, who is a Villain Protagonist.

By the end, he gets away completely with murdering several people.

The Bad Guy Wins: Although Graham is the protagonist, he's clearly a villain.

In this film, he gets away with everything.

Adaptational Alternate Ending: In the source novel, Graham's downfall comes at the end when his mother-in-law pulls a Thanatos Gambit, drinking poison and pretending he gave it to her, so he's arrested for a murder he didn't actually commit.

The man falls, then gets killed as the train hits him.

Accidental Murder: Graham is being harassed for change by a homeless man and pushes him away in the subway as the train comes.

Will Patton plays the cop who suspects Graham. Jackson can be seen briefly as a three-card monte dealer. Marshall is able to leave unobserved, which gives him the idea that murder can be a way get ahead in life, and deciding to take revenge on the people who have caused him problems in his life, Marshall starts meticulously planning their deaths.

Angry and disappointed, Marshall unwittingly causes an accident in the subway, in which a panhandler is killed. Graham Marshall (Caine), a long-time executive in a large advertising company, is unexpectedly passed over for promotion. It is based on the 1984 novel of the same name by British author Simon Brett.

A Shock to the System is a 1990 American dark comedy crime thriller film directed by Jan Egleson and written by Andrew Klavan, starring Michael Caine, Swoosie Kurtz, and Elizabeth McGovern.

A shock to the system wiki