The American
Release Date:9/1/2010
Genre: Suspense/Thriller, Drama
MPAA Rating: R ?
Runtime: 105 min.
Director: Anton Corbijn
Starring: George Clooney, Violante Placido, Thekla Reuten, Paolo Bonacelli
Synopsis:
As an assassin, Jack is constantly on the move and always alone. After a job in Sweden ends more harshly than expected for this American abroad, Jack retreats to the Italian countryside. He relishes … Read morebeing away from death for a spell as he holes up in a small medieval town. While there, Jack takes an assignment to construct a weapon for a mysterious contact, Mathilde. Savoring the peaceful quietude he finds in the mountains of Abruzzo, Jack accepts the friendship of local priest Father Benedetto and pursues a torrid liaison with a beautiful woman, Clara. Jack and Clara's time together evolves into a romance, one seemingly free of danger. But by stepping out of the shadows, Jack may be tempting fate.
~~~ Provided by: Marcus Theatres ~~~
This is my first written review about anything. I will try not to give anything away for those of you who may wish to see the movie.
When I went to see the movie in the Theater the above information is all the information I had to go on. I will admit that I was expecting something other than what I received. I am a movie goer that usually watches a lot of sci-fi, fantasy, action/adventure films, and to be honest, that is kinda what I thought this would be. I was expecting a film around the kind of film you expect James Bond to be like, maybe a little more grounded with less gadgetry but something similar in action and intrigue.
What I got is exactly what the synopsis says if I had been paying closer attention. Overall the movie is very quiet. Occasionally there is some background music, but even that seems to be the exception and not the rule. The cast is small with only a few main characters and a small supporting cast. During only a few scenes that I can remember are there more than 4 characters on the screen. For the large majority of the movie, you fallow the character Jack as he idles away his time in the small Italian town.
The movie relies heavily on the suspense of waiting for something exciting and action filled. Those moments do come from time to time, but they are relatively short lived, and there are no epic fight scenes like one would expect in an action movie, and it is a down to earth and realistic film.
For those of you turned away by such things, some scenes do contain nudity and sexually explicit content, and it is rated R for those interested because of this but without a chaperon to take you. So no underage peeping.
For my limited experience with such movies I thought it was pretty good overall. The story was interesting, and so was the character Jack in his execution of his time spent in the Italian town. The ending had some left to be desired, as it is a little anti-climatic and leaves you without true knowledge of the outcome. Though the ending does weigh heavily towards one almost certain theory. Overall I would say that the movie seemed a bit slow (remember I am used to action flicks) but it is good and worth seeing.
~Kenutsu Yasashiku.
~~~ Feel free to make comments and discuss. ~~~
