The American is a 2010 American thriller film directed by Anton Corbijn and starring George Clooney, Thekla Reuten, Violante Placido, Irina Bjorklund and Palol Bonacelli. It's an adaptation of the 1990 novel A Very Private Gentleman by Martin Booth. The film has George Clooney as Jack, Violante Placido as Clara, Thekla Reuten as Mathilde, Paolo Bonacelli as Father Benedetto, Irina Bjorkhund as Ingrid and Johan Leysen as Pavel.
The plot of the film is interesting. Jack is a hitman who is living a cool life in Sweden which suddenly is quickly shattered when men come to kill him. Jack makes it out alive and hides out in a small, beautiful Italian village awaiting instructions from his contact on how to proceed. He's given a job that requires him to build a special kind of rifle for an assassination. However, his life remains in danger and Jack's paranoia becomes more intense throughout the film. In the village, he becomes friendly with local priest Father Benedetto and develops a romantic relationship with a prostitute named Clara.
Clooney who plays Jack has an innate charm and only he could have played a character as cold and aloof as Jack. He rarely smiles. He barely even talks. He uses his tremendous talent to convey the complex emotions of his character. Placido makes things more vivacious the moment she appears on the screen. Her chemistry with Clooney is excellent.
In this movie, every aspect down to the bullets fired is restrained and measured. The director Corbijn has indeed succeeded in holding the audience's attention. He has succeeded in making an interesting action-thriller. He has depicted excellently the tense moments, brief chases and gunfights. He shows the psyche of the hitman who wonders whether he should live or die when he feels that death is about to close in on him. The film belongs to both Corbijn and Clooney. The film meanders at its own pace and walks perfectly in line with its protagonist's emotional state.
George Clooney has assumed two names in the movie. One is Jack while the other is Edward. While in Sweden, Jack gets too cozy with a woman and when his cover is blown he has no choice but to flee. His boss Pavel insists that Jack lay low in a small mountain town. That's where he adopts the name Edward. Thus he is Edward for the priest, Father Benedetto and a local prostitute, Clara.
The film has some tense and shocking moments like when Jack is out with his lady but winds up in a gun battle with those assassins or when he is trying to elude a team of Swedish assassins who are aiming for his life.
The director has made an attempt to show Jack's softer side when his relationship with Clara goes from pure business to genuine emotion. The scene where the priest tries to make Jack accept what he's done and forgive himself is nice to see. Then there is another interesting scene depicting Jack going to a mechanic for gun parts. Jack's stealthy client, Mathilde, also sparks some interest. Another plus point of Corbijn is he knows how to capture the best of the best in terms of the European landscapes and the actions. Jack is shown as always busy. One minute he is in his room working on the gun, the next he's in the midst of a sexual romp with Clara and then he's looking over his shoulder at a possible Swedish assassin.
Clooney, Reuten and Placido are nice to look at as are the sprawling countryside views and even the beautiful custom-made rifle. Director Coribjn and screenwriter Rowan Joffe have coordinated excellently to make the movie very interesting.
The film The American has received a mixed to generally positive response from critics. The film is beautifully shot and it is emotionally restrained. It is an unusual spy thriller with an excellent performance by Clooney. The film is gripping owing to smart directing and a strong central performance. It is a thoughtful, intelligent, austere and contemplative film. The film is a masterpiece which should be watched by the lovers of action cinema. The film will be shown in Navi Mumbai theaters from 1 October 2010.
No comments:
Post a Comment