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THE AMERICAN



Genre:
Thriller/Drama
Director: Anton Corbijn
Cast: George Clooney, Bruce Altman, Thekla Reuten, Paolo Bonacelli, Violante Placido, Irina Bjorklund, Samuli Vauramo
RunTime: 1 hr 44 mins
Released By: Shaw
Rating: R21 (Sexual Scene and Nudity)

Official Website: http://focusfeatures.com/film/the_american/

Opening Day: 14 October 2010

Synopsis:

As an assassin, Jack (played by George Clooney) is constantly on the move and always alone. After a job in Sweden ends more harshly than expected for this American abroad, Jack retreats to the Italian countryside. He relishes being away from death for a spell as he holes up in a small medieval town. While there, Jack takes an assignment to construct a weapon for a mysterious contact, Mathilde (Thekla Reuten). Savoring the peaceful quietude he finds in the mountains of Abruzzo, Jack accepts the friendship of local priest Father Benedetto (Paolo Bonacelli) and pursues a torrid liaison with a beautiful woman, Clara (Violante Placido). Jack and Clara’s time together evolves into a romance, one seemingly free of danger. But by stepping out of the shadows, Jack may be tempting fate.

Movie Review:

Breathless.

That was how I felt at the end of The American.

Even as I'm beginning to type this review, I wonder if my words will live up to the movie's utterly precise *m**ise en scène*. For once, I am pressured to write a review because I am afraid it will not live up to a movie's lofty standards.

The American is a quietly devastating study of a hit man, Jack aka The Butterfly, on the mend. And he is played with rare restraint by an unshowy George Clooney. That's not to say he keeps he clothes on throughout the movie. Yes, the movie offers thrills. But it is not the boisterous *wham-bang*kind with a lot of double-crossing that you’re likely expecting based on a misleading trailer playing online (not the one tagged here).

Its premise fits snugly into the art-house cliché – a thinking man’s existential thriller. But if you're thinking overlong indulgent shots, you couldn't be more wrong. Here, the frames are* *so cleanly composed; its action scenes so meticulously staged; its sound design so succinct and aurally attuned to the narrative's cadences. There is never a wasted shot or sound. Every cinematographic element is finely calibrated to Corbijn's intent. Each reveal only what director Corbijn wants to show about Jack's painful existence in purgatory hell and increasing recalcitrance towards his dangerous profession fraught with limbos. Jack's presence on earth is hellish as every sound signals danger. He might as well go deaf.

The American is indeed the closest movie that I've seen since time immemorial that comes very close to cinematic nirvana. That its minimalist renditions only serve to direct you to the single-minded intention and intimate course of understanding Jack only makes the viewing experience all the more powerful and pleasurable. In fact, there are a few standout scenes that evince Corbijn's penchant for pitch-perfect choreography with dabs of black humour thrown in. One involves a chase through a cobbled labyrinthine alley and another takes place in a spartan cafe.

Adjectives like “gorgeous” are often overused for movies that boast splendid cinematography. Here, it is an apt superlative, for Corbijn's cinematography isn't mere confection for the eyes, it is one of precision, contributing to our understanding of Jack's insular world. His breathtaking top shots of the bucolic Italian scenery almost seem to map Jack's psychological terrain.

Rather than succumbing to modern tropes of a suspenser, The American hearkens back to the Hitchcockian, good old-fashioned style of suspense, backed by a central three-dimensional character. Its mini thriller snippets each start with a placid build-up and climax with a juggernaut. And the good news is, there are many of such scenes that relish in jolting the audience in the midst of the bucolic quietude of small town, Castel Del Monte.

But if you're anticipating a fast-paced thriller of the Bourne or Bond vein, it's better you check your expectations at the door because this contemplative movie really takes its time. But if you are patient, this movie rewards you generously by the end and will hit your raw nerve. Like all great works of art, it immerses you into a personal tragedy and makes sure that tragedy becomes part of you.

Unhurried and confidently directed, The American oozes class and is a well-modulated character study that will appeal to fans of Italian maverick Michelangelo Antonioni's brand of existential cinema. I’m tempted to compare Anton Corbijn to Italian maverick, Michelangelo Antonioni. Hell, even call him Antonioni Reincarnate. But such name-calling merely makes Corbijn sound like a second-rate Antonioni who only lives in his shadow. As with his impressive feature-length debut Control, Corbijn shows he is full command of his craft and is definitely one mighty force to be reckoned with.

Movie Rating:



(Anyone who dares to snooze over this, shoot me!)

Review by Adrian Sim

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE:

. The Men Who Stare At Goats (2009)

. Burn After Reading (2008)

. Wanted (2008)


. Bangkok Dangerous (2008)

. Hitman (2007)

. The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)

. Shooter (2007)

. Good Night, and Good Luck. (2005)

 


 
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