Hit Man
Hit Man is streaming on Netflix at the time of writing. Rated R. Common Sense says 15+.
Gary (Glen Powell), a mild mannered philosophy professor, gets a side gig as an undercover agent posing as a hit man. One day a beautiful woman (Adria Arjona) inquires about his services. Can he get the girl, keep the job, stay alive, and finally discover who he’s meant to be?
STORY: C
This mix of three genres (screwball comedy, Dead Poets-esque drama, and noir) doesn’t work.
The film feels like an experiment. Some experiments work. Some don’t.
This movie tastes like the new drink on the Starbucks menu you get all fired up about that combines three wildly different but delicious flavors yet winds up being just sort of, you know, ok.
While I may not be blown away by the story, I love writer-director Richard Linklater’s moxie and his spirit of experimentation.
THE SCOOP: Check out Hit Man’s IMDb page, here.
PEOPLE: A-
Adria Arjona and Glen Powell have booked their seats on the Movie Star Express.
Both actors give delicious, first class performances.
Grab a pair of plastic safety goggles. The co-stars’ chemistry is explosive.
CAST PARTY: Watch Glen Powell prank co-star Adria Arjona, here. (3 mins.)
FILM NERD STUFF: B
The makeup and hair department should be commended, honored, lauded, celebrated, and given a cookie.
Glen Powell’s transformation from Gary to Ron is simultaneously subtle and explosive. Which is a hard thing to pull off.
Glen’s array of hit man disguises are hysterical.
BEHIND THE SCENES: Check out the Hit Man entry of NYT’s Anatomy of a Scene, here. (5 mins.)
ELECTIVE CLASS (Tell Me, Who Are You?): B-
It appears that defining one’s personality is definitely trickier than it appears.
The film dives deep into the idea of whether we have a fixed self.
Unfortunately, the film’s other focuses (entertainment, cleverness) get in the way of its study of human nature instead of amplifying it.
FINAL COMMENTS:
Linklater hopes that these three disparate genres add up to more than the sum of their parts. They don’t. They do add up - not to great heights, but certainly to something tall enough to earn a spin for your end-of-the-work-week movie night.