Review of The American (2010) by 3Guys 1 — 04 Sep 2011

If after seeing the previews you were looking forward to seeing a James Bond or Jason Bourne action movie you might be disappointed in this film. However, if you approach this film with an open mind and disregard the trailers for the film I think you may be pleasantly surprised.

Clooney plays a stone cold killer of an assassin, as the first few minutes of the film will make abundantly clear. I felt like I had been slapped in the face. After escaping an assassination attempt, Jack/ Mr. Butterfly (Clooney) goes on the run. He accepts one last job from his employers that he has grown to distrust but needs that last score. While bidding his time and hiding from people trying to kill him he befriends a priest and falls in love with a prostitute with absolutely amazing breasts. I know it's not the most original plot in the world but it works in this film.

I thought the cinematography in the film was spectacular the wide angle and long shots were amazing. I would love to check out the town where this was shot it looked like an M.C. Escher drawing. I had seen and enjoyed director Anton Corbijn's previous film Control (2007). Although, this film was completely dissimilar to that previous work both are worth checking out.

The pacing in the film is slow and deliberate. There is a lack of dialogue. Most of the actors other than Clooney are foreign. We watch Clooney collect mail walk around town, lay in bed reading and go about his work in silence. Critics and reviewers loved to hate this film declaring it pretentious and contrived. The film trailer portrays the film as an action film. Despite all these perceived drawbacks I really enjoyed the film and found it to the equivalent of a full meal at a fine restaurant rather than a trip to the drive through for some fast food.

This film reminded me of a well written Ernest Hemingway short story. From the strong male character struggling against society and circumstance, the Spartan dialogue, use of symbolism, imagery and forcing the audience to think and make judgments for themselves its short story narrative at its best.

Go check this out and decide for yourself. I thoroughly enjoyed the film for all the reasons so many people hated it.