June 7, 2024
FILM: HIT MAN
DIRECTED BY: RICHARD LINKLATER
STARRING: GLEN POWELL, ADRIA ARJONA, AUSTIN AMELIO
RATING: 3 ½ out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
I’ll say right off the bat that Richard Linklater is one of my favorite directors dating back to Slacker, thru the Before trilogy, School of Rock, and his masterpiece, Boyhood. He’s also done some interesting and original animated films such as Waking Life and Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood. His new film, Hit Man, played at the Venice Film Festival last September. Netflix, which bought the distribution rights for the film, strategically delayed the release until now. This is the kind of film that plays well in the breezy, hot days of summer. It’s smart, twisted, and very hot.
The film stars the new “it” guy in Hollywood, Glen Powell. He’s been around for a while though having starred in Hidden Figures, Top Gun: Maverick, Anyone But You, and even Linklater’s 2016 comedy Everybody Wants Some!! (also a very enjoyable film.) Here he plays Gary Johnson, a college professor who goes undercover to assist the police department in nabbing people who want to have someone offed. (The character is based on a real-life figure.) Johnson goes by the alias of Ron when posing as the hit man. Early in the film he gets a promotion and takes on a higher-level role with cases including one in which a woman named Madison (Adria Arjona) wants to have her husband killed. What follows is a series of twists that play a bit like the Knives Out films with some classic noir thrown in thanks to Linklater’s own love of and references to the history of cinema.
What sets the film apart from other such crime/comedy/thrillers is that Linklater layers the narrative with an interesting exploration about identity. He inspires his psychology/philosophy students to be whoever they want to be and embraces the importance of living passionately and dangerously. Linklater himself once studied philosophy and has sprinkled the subject’s various theories in his films ever since then. (Waking Life being the ultimate manifestation of that interest.) Without Linklater’s passion for the subject and his great skill at directing actors and creating multi-dimensional characters this might just be a run of the mill Hollywood action picture. It’s hard not to imagine the former husband and wife team of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie in the lead roles if the timing and circumstances were different.
Thankfully they’re not. Glen Powell, who co-wrote and produced the film with Linklater, very much fits the bill as Brad Pitt’s successor in terms of his good looks and skillful acting chops. But Powell stands on his own here, creating a character that takes on multiple identities throughout the film. “Gary” plays “Ron” who plays on Madison who may or not be playing on him. Adria Arjona is equally masterful demonstrating the various sides of Madison. She’s a victim and vixen. She’s demure and sexy. The two actors have one of the great scenes of the year in which what they say to each other is being heard differently by fellow police department investigators Phil (Sanjay Rao) and Claudette (Retta.) It’s a master class in actors playing multiple levels.
Powell is gaining major attention recently for this role and others. Some say he’s the new Cary Grant and it’s hard to argue with that. Of course, his character is curiously like Grant’s Roger Thornhill in Alfred Hitchcock’s classic North by Northwest in that he seems to relish the idea of taking on a role in life that is far more exciting than that of an advertising salesman or college professor. One might also compare what the character Gary does here to Walter White’s turn towards the dark side in Breaking Bad. However, this is much lighter material and Powell embraces the role with charisma and charm, much like Grant did in many of his roles.
Hit Man is more than a summer action film, thanks to Richard Linklater. He de-emphasizes action for real human characters, crisp dialogue, sex appeal, and a fresh perspective on mankind’s potential for violence and immorality with a sprinkling of humor.
Hit Man is now available to stream on Netflix.
FILM: HIT MAN
DIRECTED BY: RICHARD LINKLATER
STARRING: GLEN POWELL, ADRIA ARJONA, AUSTIN AMELIO
RATING: 3 ½ out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
I’ll say right off the bat that Richard Linklater is one of my favorite directors dating back to Slacker, thru the Before trilogy, School of Rock, and his masterpiece, Boyhood. He’s also done some interesting and original animated films such as Waking Life and Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood. His new film, Hit Man, played at the Venice Film Festival last September. Netflix, which bought the distribution rights for the film, strategically delayed the release until now. This is the kind of film that plays well in the breezy, hot days of summer. It’s smart, twisted, and very hot.
The film stars the new “it” guy in Hollywood, Glen Powell. He’s been around for a while though having starred in Hidden Figures, Top Gun: Maverick, Anyone But You, and even Linklater’s 2016 comedy Everybody Wants Some!! (also a very enjoyable film.) Here he plays Gary Johnson, a college professor who goes undercover to assist the police department in nabbing people who want to have someone offed. (The character is based on a real-life figure.) Johnson goes by the alias of Ron when posing as the hit man. Early in the film he gets a promotion and takes on a higher-level role with cases including one in which a woman named Madison (Adria Arjona) wants to have her husband killed. What follows is a series of twists that play a bit like the Knives Out films with some classic noir thrown in thanks to Linklater’s own love of and references to the history of cinema.
What sets the film apart from other such crime/comedy/thrillers is that Linklater layers the narrative with an interesting exploration about identity. He inspires his psychology/philosophy students to be whoever they want to be and embraces the importance of living passionately and dangerously. Linklater himself once studied philosophy and has sprinkled the subject’s various theories in his films ever since then. (Waking Life being the ultimate manifestation of that interest.) Without Linklater’s passion for the subject and his great skill at directing actors and creating multi-dimensional characters this might just be a run of the mill Hollywood action picture. It’s hard not to imagine the former husband and wife team of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie in the lead roles if the timing and circumstances were different.
Thankfully they’re not. Glen Powell, who co-wrote and produced the film with Linklater, very much fits the bill as Brad Pitt’s successor in terms of his good looks and skillful acting chops. But Powell stands on his own here, creating a character that takes on multiple identities throughout the film. “Gary” plays “Ron” who plays on Madison who may or not be playing on him. Adria Arjona is equally masterful demonstrating the various sides of Madison. She’s a victim and vixen. She’s demure and sexy. The two actors have one of the great scenes of the year in which what they say to each other is being heard differently by fellow police department investigators Phil (Sanjay Rao) and Claudette (Retta.) It’s a master class in actors playing multiple levels.
Powell is gaining major attention recently for this role and others. Some say he’s the new Cary Grant and it’s hard to argue with that. Of course, his character is curiously like Grant’s Roger Thornhill in Alfred Hitchcock’s classic North by Northwest in that he seems to relish the idea of taking on a role in life that is far more exciting than that of an advertising salesman or college professor. One might also compare what the character Gary does here to Walter White’s turn towards the dark side in Breaking Bad. However, this is much lighter material and Powell embraces the role with charisma and charm, much like Grant did in many of his roles.
Hit Man is more than a summer action film, thanks to Richard Linklater. He de-emphasizes action for real human characters, crisp dialogue, sex appeal, and a fresh perspective on mankind’s potential for violence and immorality with a sprinkling of humor.
Hit Man is now available to stream on Netflix.