The American
Starring: George Clooney, Paolo Bonacelli and Violante Placido.
Year: 2010
Watched: 1/1/11
What the fudge is it?
Jack (George Clooney) is a Gun Smith/Hitman/Sex addict who specializes in manufacturing specialist guns (yes i used specialist more or less twice in a sentence but if you dont like it george clooney will pop a cap in you). After an assignment ends badly Jack contacts his employer and is directed to a secluded Italian town. Here he undertakes his last assignment and gets himself in all kinds of sexy spy trouble.
What i thought...
OK so its based on a book by Martin Booth titled A Very Private Gentleman. In the book he is English in the film guess what? he is american. i am not going to review the book or compare the film to it.
The film opens by showing us the reason Jack (Clooney) has to move location, to put it short something goes tits up and ole Georgie has to get a bit hardcore. A quick phone call to his contact and george is on his way to a small italian town.
His contact played by looks like a weathered Daniel Craig. Like Daniel in bond 49: Goldzimmer. Once relocated Jack is ready to undertake his final assignment. There is alot of farting about in the form of showing off the location, sipping coffee, chatting to a priest and visiting hookers. Ohh i forgot to mention the town in which ole georgie boy shack up in not only has the most suspicious dark alleyways but is also inhabitated by the most gorgeous selection of hookers on the planet.
The first 2/3 of the film plod along very slowly with small interludes of action. The most exciting scenes are those in which the gun is being assembled and tested. I could have easily watched George Clooney source, construct and test the entire catalogiue of weapons from the Call of duty series.
The rest of the time is spent between falling in love with a hooker and listening to an old priest babble on, one of these relationships is interesting and its the one without the robes.
Clooney is great! Georgie shows he can play a darker character who doesn't find the need to speak fast or act charming all the time. This guy is the opposite to ocean, he has obviously been around along time and done alot of bad things.
The character of Jack becomes more and more paranoid with the town and its inhabitants which culminates in a chase scene through those dodgy little streets.
I said the film was slow paced and i think this is summed up in the chase scene. Now a bond chase scene will involve sports cars that can slide on ice while making toast and giving 007 an old fashioned. The chase scene in the american consists of A Moped and a Fiat!
This sums up the film. The trailer would have you believe this is Bourne meets Bond mixed with the saint. it is far from it. The majority of the film is spent admiring the landscape, exploring Clooney's character and making a cool gun.
The final third of the film does however pick up pace as all the paranoia and preparation come together to create a tense finale.
Overall:
Really enjoyed it, Although a little slow at times Clooney's performance kept me interested throughout. It lack any real actions and is not 007 but more double OAP, its a slow paced thriller which focuses on the little details rather than blowing shit up. Great performances all round and the whole film looks great! Well worth a watch. 3/5
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