Review of The American (2010) by Sonblackosea — 02 Jan 2011

Brilliant and Beautiful. See this movie if you are looking for a thoughtful meditation on the psyche of an assassin who no longer has the desire to work as one. This is the story of a soul seeking something other than what he has, but he does not know what it is he is looking for or how to get it. Rather than this being a violent and dull-witted or depressingly repentant movie, though, it is full of life and even hope. There is action in the movie, but the action serves a purpose. Thus, it is not an "action-packed thriller" (like the ad would have the viewer believe), as much as it is a portrait of a human being seeking transformation of a sort - if not of the religious variety, certainly of the spiritual.

The cinematography was excellent - beautiful natural images, very striking bits of composition in various room and street scenes, and a wonderful use of color. The storyline was somewhat canned, but the acting was very solid and some of the dialogue was exceptional in its deceptive simplicity. I will keep thinking about this one for some time.