Genre: Comedy; Action; Romance.
Director: Richard Linklater
Writers: Richard Linklater & Glen Powell
Starring: Glen Powell, Adria Arjona, Austin Amelio & Retta
Audiences who go watch it expecting a grand cinematic experience might feel it as a bit of a letdown, but if they're open to embrace Hit Man's small scaled filmmaking with a spicy (and quite funny) touch, then they will have one of the most rewarding time at the movies of the last couple of years. Hit Man is a delicious film, not perfect, but quite audience-friendly. It's pretty mainstream, but it's pretty good also!
Richard Linklater is better known for audience-friendly movies like Dazed and Confused (1993) or School of Rock (2003), but also for some quite prestigious titles like the Before trilogy, Tape (2001) or Boyhood (2014). With Hit Man, Linklater seems to find the perfect combo between his two "categories" of works of his filmography. His latest title might draw some similarities with the director's approach to 2011's Bernie (an excellent, yet underseen and underrewarded), but it happens Hit Man just has a better screenplay, which elevates it to another level. It's inspired by a real-life story, which could throw some darker touches to the narrative, but the Linklater & Powell writing duo give it a little twist, a little tone and some sparkling lines, turning it into a comedy instead.
The concept is truly funny and while some might say it would only work in a much darker and sober way, truth is Glen Powell's charms play a huge part in the film's essence. I believe it wouldn't work this well if Linklater had cast an actor with less star quality. I want to make it clear: Powell is not one of the best actors of his generation, for sure, but Hit Man is tailor-made for his talents. The role of Gary as an introverted man who discovers a new side of himself and turns into a charming fake hit man defies Powell, but it's the many parodies of well-known cultural characters he plays with the clients that elevate his work to almost comedic genius. He seduces the audiences as he seduces Adria Arjona's character at the same time: an actress I didn't know, but she showed a lot of on-screen magnet quality. It's a sexy and witty performance as she navigates the many nuanced layers of her character like a pro - it's not a defying role, but she makes it a quite interesting one.
The pace and the editing also play a huge role in the comedic timing of the movie itself, specially in the scenes Gary meets his fake-hitman's clients. The execution is quite simple and quite "straight to the point", which might not give it a distinguished look, but it sure is effective. It's execution at the narrative's service, which proves you don't need to have something quite stylish and visually striking in order to make a good film, specially when you have such good script and leads to rely on. Still, I don't think it is a perfect film: the first and third acts are amazing, but the second embraces a very unremarkable rom-com style only elevated by the characters' development and some sexy moments.
So, Hit Man is a movie I enjoyed a lot. It's the almost perfect balance between my personal heartly tastes and my personal rational tastes. Overall, Hit Man is very very good and it hits brilliance multiple times, but I consider it doesn't hold in that level... and maybe that's intentional, because those are the most memorable bits. Still I consider it to be the comedy I didn't know I needed! Glen Powell is a star to keep an eye on... kinda reminded me a male version of Julia Roberts in the 90's - and I think that's a huge compliment!
RATING: 8,5/10
Oscar potential categories:
- Best Picture
- Best Actor (Glen Powell)
- Best Supporting Actress (Adria Arjona)
- Best Adapted Screenplay
- Best Editing
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