The American

It's easy for a movie trailer to trick audiences. With two and a half minutes or so to get a message across telling what this movie is about, it's easy to make any movie look like something it isn't. I can't think of a movie that was more misrepresented than 2010's The American, made to look like a thinking man's Jason Bourne with plenty of action and suspense. Yes, there is suspense. Yes, there is tension. But action? Not so much.

I don't know who that benefits when a trailer completely misrepresents what a movie is about.  In this case, the story is of a hitman in Italy preparing for one last job before he walks away from the profession he's so good at. It is leisurely paced to say the least and doesn't have much in the way of action. When there is action, it's quick and startling, not exciting and drawn out. So for starters, anyone heading into this movie thinking they're about to see 2 hours of action is now pissed, and I've read of several accounts of people leaving theaters. The people who might want to see this movie have now avoided it because they don't want to see a Hollywood shoot 'em up flick. Win win for everyone, huh?

After surviving a hit attempt on his life while on a job in Sweden, hired killer Jack (George Clooney) is sent to Italy by his handler/contact, Pavel (Johan Leysen). Instead of staying in a major city like Rome, Jack finds a small country village and goes to work. He gets information about his new job, meeting mysterious Mathilde (Thekla Reuten), who requires a specific gun to pull off her next job. Jack goes to work, assembling all the pieces he will need for the build. Away from the world and all its problems, Jack starts a relationship with a prostitute, Clara (Violante Placido). But isolated from the world he knows, he starts to freak out, paranoia taking over as he fears that someone is again gunning for him.

Depending on the viewer, the next statement is either going to drive you away or bring you into this movie. This is not Jason Bourne on vacation in Italy. This is a newer look French New Wave movie about a hired killer who leads a spartan life and in general, is a minimalist movie that will surely divide its viewers. The odd thing is, a day after watching the movie, I'm still not sure what to make of it.  I either loved it or hated it, but I can't decide for sure. It's an interesting movie, one that keeps you involved because you're just not quite sure what's going on. If I can describe this flick though in a most positive fashion, it's that it would make an interesting companion piece with Jean-Pierre Melville's Le Samourai in terms of character, style, tone and overall, cynicism about life.

Trying to come up with the most accurate, fairest description I can for director Anton Corbijn's movie, I'll say this. It is a movie interested in life, the daily little things you do. The camera editing isn't really even editing. Corbijn places his camera and lets things develop. Long -- long -- shots have Jack walking through the cramped Italian streets. Even after he walks out of frame, the shot lingers. Other shots have Jack driving through the countryside. Long stretches go without a word said -- musical score from Herbert Gronemeyer filling in the blanks in a quiet, soothing way -- as Jack patiently assembles all the pieces needed for the gun he's working on. You can see how this style -- or lack of depending on your interpretation -- split audiences down the middle.

At times, it is a visually frustrating movie in its beauty. The Italian countryside looks incredibly beautiful, as does the village Clooney's Jack is staying in. But visually, it can be infuriating. You want to move the story along, push the pace a little bit. Because so very little happens in this 105-minute movie, you're amped up to the point where you feel Jack's growing paranoia.  Every little noise sends a shiver up your back. Every look is a suspicious look no matter who it is from because the story just doesn't give you many hints as to what is about to happen. The moments you feel like dozing off (and there are plenty) are then broken up by these moments of intense fear. That's the whole movie, equal parts boredom and fear wrapped up into one.

The main character in this basically heartless movie is a heartless son of a gun, Clooney as Jack. He doesn't have much in the way of lines at all, cracks a smile exactly once, looks intense and/or glum the whole movie, and is required to be more of a presence than a character. Jack is intense, and that's the best way to describe this mysterious character. Is it Clooney playing Clooney? I hate when performances are identified that way because this is an interesting individual. Nothing is spelled out for us as to his background other than that he may be losing his edge and is therefore a liability. Even in his glumness, he's searching for some sort of 'right' in his little word, possibly finding it with Placido's Clara. It may be too late for him though because if there was ever a damned individual, it's Jack.

The movie and its storytelling technique does have its fair share of flaws. The story makes jumps that are necessary for things to keep moving along without always making a ton of sense. Characters do things that just don't come across as rational. Like Clooney's Jack, hidden away in a remote Italian town, remaining in the town after a hit is attempted on his life. Wouldn't he figure something is up?  But that's the problem. Is this intentional, like Corbijn wanting us as a viewer to piece things together, or just an oversight in logic and general ability to stay coherent in his storytelling?  It treads that fine line.

Because this movie has me thrown for a loop, I'm writing more than I normally would here so let's wrap it up. The supporting cast is solid, with Reuten the icy cool killer working with Jack, Placido as Clara, the high-class prostitute with the heart of gold (she's stunningly beautiful), and Paolo Bonacelli as Father Benedetto, a priest Jack meets in his travels. It brings up some interesting dialogue about sin, life and death, fate, all that good stuff. That's the movie though, a look into the mind of a hired gun, the inner workings of a killer. It is a beautiful movie with an incredibly leisurely pacing and style, one you have to know what you're getting into when watching it. I wanted to like it, and I can say now that I liked it...probably...I think...maybe. Big picture, it's different. Pretentious? Maybe. I liked it though, flaws and positives both considered.

The American <---trailer (2010): ***/****