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Rating: 8.5 stars

Seen 1 time

Seen on: 01/27/2011

View on: IMDb | TMDb

The American (2010)

Directed by Anton Corbijn

Thriller

Most recently watched by noahphex, sensoria

Overview

Dispatched to a small Italian town to await further orders, assassin Jack embarks on a double life that may be more relaxing than is good for him.

Rated R | Length 104 minutes

Actors

George Clooney | Paolo Bonacelli | Silvana Bosi | Violante Placido | Thekla Reuten | Johan Leysen | Björn Granath | Irina Björklund | Filippo Timi | Samuli Vauramo | Giorgio Gobbi | Isabelle Adriani | Anna Foglietta | Sandro Dori | Guido Palliggiano | Lars Hjelm | Antonio Rampino | Ilaria Cramerotti | Angelica Novak | Lello Serao | Patrizio Pelizzi

Viewing Notes

I was finally able to catch up with this movie. I had really wanted to see it in the theater last year, and after watching, was sad that I hadn’t, as the film is visually compelling and would have been gorgeous on the large screen.

Directed by famous photographer Anton Corbijn, the film, as mentioned above, is gorgeous. Filmed mostly in the Italian countryside, the landscape is beautifully desolate, which neatly mirrors the soul of the protagonist, Jack.

Jack is well played by Clooney here. He’s tight, nervous, untrusting of everyone, dour. Very little of the typical Clooney warm and charm is invested in Jack, which is a good thing.

Though the trailers would lead you to believe that The American is a taut, action thriller brimming with chase scenes and busting with violence, it’s not. Instead, it flows along on an undercurrent of paranoia, perceived (and sometimes real) violence, and moral ambiguity. When violence does break out, it’s often unexpected, or takes unexpected turns. It’s also sickeningly real and remorseless.

From the opening scene, it’s difficult to really like Jack a lot, and I don’t think we’re meant to. Instead, Corbijn seems to want to instill the same standoffish, uncaring detachment in the audience that his character has. That’s how we’re supposed to identify with him, and it mostly works.

While not a movie for those looking for a Bourne Conspiracy styled thriller, The American worked for me.

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