MyRating: YYYYYDirector: Anton Corbijn
Cast: George Clooney, Violante Placido, Thekla Reuten, Paolo Bonacelli, Johan Leysen
MPAA: Rated R for violence, sexual content and nudity
US Gross: US$ 35.6 Million
Worldwide Gross: US$ 65.5 Million
A fine thriller-drama adapted from the 1990 novel A Very Private Gentleman by Martin Booth. Jack (George Clooney) is an assassin and a master craftsman, who specializes in custom arms maker. A man of his profession, Jack is a lonely guy, who is not able to build a lasting relationship, since once his true identity is endangered to be revealed, that is the time he may be forced to kill his acquaintance.
When a job in Sweden ends up in an ambush that nearly kills him, Jack flees to Rome and contacts an associate named Pavel (Johan Leysen), who sends him to Castelvecchio, a small town in the mountains of Abruzzo. There, he receives his next assignment to build a custom-designed sniper rifle for a Belgian woman named Mathilde (Thekla Reuten) to be used for an assassination. At the same time, poses as a photographer, Jack finds an unexpected friendship with a local priest, Father Benedetto (Paolo Bonacelli), a man who he can talk to. He also seeks comfort from a local prostitute named Clara (Violante Placido). But as his one-night-stand with the woman continues into a romantic relationship that slowly binds his heart, Jack knows that this may be his time to get out from his profession. But, it may be easier for a sinner to repent his sin than for an assassin to turn back road, because his world just will not let him go.
This is a movie that may not be for everyone, based on the fact that people who have watched it, will either love it, or hate it. But, I really could not find one single reason to not like this movie. Indeed, this is a movie that I will say, without any doubt, a great one. Not only I enjoyed it, but also I loved every bit of the film, and below are the reasons why I love this movie.
Superb storytelling and direction. This movie did take its time to build the story. No rush, but it was very well crafted with a very good and interesting storyline and plots, that hooked me from the beginning and gripped me till the end. This is not your usual Hollywood's action movies with lots of over-the-top actions, chasing and fight scenes, that sometimes barely give you time to breath and think. In fact, this movie has many silent and reflective moments, showing Mr. Clooney alone in the quiet and laid-back town. The suspense was slowly built, piece by piece carefully, brought you to the final peak result. And when it came to actions, they were being done effectively, that the portion was just enough to support the story. Yet, I still felt this movie was suspenseful in its own way. And all these were being executed nicely by the director Anton Corbijn, who made the movie to become very classy and meaningful.
Great character development and performances. George Clooney is a very fine actor, it is always fun to see him act. And this movie showed another great performance of him. He captured the soul of Jack very well, the lonely assassin, calm but cautious, who disregard his cold-blooded demeanor when killing people, he still has a human heart inside. It was very interesting to see how his character developed throughout the movie, including the struggling inside him when he has to make an important decision, that will determine his survival, whether he should follow the right things that his mind told him to do, or his heart. The relationship between Jack and Clara was also interesting to watch. A lovable prostitute who can shake his heart and make him think that it may be his time to end his long and tiring journey. Violante Placido, the beautiful Italian actress and singer, appeared very sexy here as Clara. This movie was surely not lack of beautiful women, the same with the tradition of those of the James Bond movies.
Beautiful cinematography and location. Another thing that left a deep feeling for me is the beautiful and exotic scenery of the Italian countryside where this movie took place. The quiet town also set the precise tone of the movie. And the mixture of this beauty, exoticness and silence, has made this movie to become so refreshing, at the same time gave me a solitude feeling. That is the time when we can feel what the character feels, and sense what the character senses.
This movie is turned out to be one of my most favorite movies of 2010. Wonderful, smart and entertaining. Loved it the first time I saw it, and that's usually a lasting impression. This is the time when you have to say, "If it's good, then it's good. If it's bad, then it's bad." And the difference is sometimes because of the different taste. That simple. Even though, actually I still couldn't quite understand why people hated it, because for me, this is a great movie. (MJ)
