The opening minutes of Anton Corbijn’s The American provide a near perfect taste as to the style and sensibilities of the movie that will follow. Against a backdrop of gorgeous scenery in an isolated European locale, a man commits an act of violence so sudden and detached that it seems as though it did not happen at all. The man (played by George Clooney) is a weary hit-man on the run from unknown pursuers who are hunting him for down for some previously committed deed. Fleeing to a small Italian village, our protagonist, now going by the name of Edward, befriends a local priest and beds a local prostitute, and is soon convinced by his shady employer to take one final job building a custom-designed rifle for another assassin. Despite doing almost nothing to escape the narrative pitfalls of the hit-man genre, The American is a film that still manages to stands out because of its refusal to descend into either cheap thrills or overstated melodrama, resulting in a quiet and restrained thriller with a deep undercurrent of yearning eroticism and unmistakable regret.
Hello, Science! [Search results for village]
Random for art:
- From Stay at Home Mom to Photographer…
- These are a Few of My Favorite Things Blogs
- Warning...I Use the Word Bastard
- You Knob
- Tasty Tuesday Wednesday- Featuring Heather
- Happy 4th Birthday, My Little Peanut
- I blinked and She is Three
- Calling All Arizonans
- Are My Hair Washing Rituals Really That Interesting?
- When is Your Birthday? These Awards May be for You!