Review of The American (2010) by Stuart K — 16 Apr 2013

Directed by Anton Corbijn (Control (2007) and Linear (2009)), this is adapted from Martin Booth's 1990 novel A Very Private Gentleman, this is a very sparse, quiet and moody thriller, one with a VERY European flavour, one which owes a lot of the cinema of Michelangelo Antonioni and Jean-Pierre Melville, but it's the film's mood which adds to it's atmosphere, and it has a brilliant lead performance at it's core, holding it together.

Jack (George Clooney) is a contract killer, who is living a quiet life out in rural Sweden with lover Ingrid (Irina Björklund), but after he is targeted by assassins, he flees alone to Rome, where Jack contacts his handler Pavel (Johan Leysen), who tells Jack he cannot stay in Rome, so he sends Jack to the quiet Renaissance town of Castel del Monte in Eastern Italy.

While there, Jack ends up building a rifle for local girl Mathilde (Thekla Reuten), for an assassination, but after Jack gets to know local priest Father Benedetto (Paolo Bonacelli), whose view on life makes Jack question whether his vocation in life is the right one, but it's not long before Jack's life is in danger again.

It's not a film with fireworks and excitement, this is a thinking man's action film, which shows the tenseness that goes with a hitman's profession, Clooney shows a dark side, with a icy stare that's quite scary, but he does well in the part.