Hit Man, Richard Linklater’s latest feature, is a breezy and charming film that easily ranks among his best works of the past decade. It is also the type of film I can see myself adding to the list of comfort films and revisiting multiple times in the coming years.
Gary Johnson (Glen Powell), a professor of psychology and philosophy at the University of New Orleans, lives a solitary life with his cats, Id and Ego. On the side, he assists the New Orleans police with tasks like overseeing surveillance for sting operations in which Jasper (Austin Amelio), a fellow cop, pretends to be a fake hitman and arrests those prepared to pay him to kill someone. After a violent incident involving several teens results in Jasper’s 120-day suspension, Gary is instructed to replace him at the last minute. Surprisingly, he and his colleagues, Retta (Claudette) and Phil (Sanjay Rao), are taken aback by his natural talent for pretending to be someone else. As a result, Gary starts developing a strong interest in the job, conducting meticulous research on each client and creating a new persona (with distinctive clothing, nationality, and backstory) based on their background. On one occasion, he assumes the identity of one of his several fake hitmen (which he calls Ron) to secure a confession from a married woman named Madison (Adria Arjona), who wants to get rid of her violent husband, Ray (Evan Holtzman). However, he quickly becomes attracted to her and advises her to abandon her plans to get her husband killed in favor of starting a new life. Eventually, sparks fly, and they embark on a passionate love affair, which sets off a series of troubling events, including a murder investigation in which they find themselves embroiled.
Two things make the film’s absurd premise—a nerdy college professor who works part-time for the New Orleans police—work: first, the information is conveyed casually through narration, making it appear that these kinds of things are completely normal in the film’s world; and second, it is mentioned that the film is loosely based on a man’s real-life story, which helps in reinforcing our belief that something like this has actually happened. The screenplay, written by Richard Linklater and Glen Powell, is exceptional in its ability to fluidly transition between genres, including comedy, romance, and noir. Several laugh-out-loud moments occur in the film’s first act when Gary adopts the personas of several characters, ranging from a Russian hitman to Tilda Swinton to even Patrick Bateman. Most hilarious, though, is the scene in which he describes to a sleazy client how to dispose of a human body without getting caught.
The best part of the film is the romantic subplot between Gary and Madison. Their on-screen chemistry is electrifying; it’s sensual and emotional, and you can’t help but hold your breath every time you see them together. Hit Man is one of the sexiest crime capers, possibly since Steven Soderberg’s Out of Sight (1998), and a fitting response to those who complain that movies are no longer sexy. As Gary develops an unethical relationship with his client, Madison, from whom he is supposed to elicit a confession for trying to get her husband killed, things get complicated, prompting the audience to conjecture about the potential future outcomes of the story. However, the savvy screenplay keeps you guessing by staying one step ahead, and even as the film enters noir territory in its final act, Linklater always manages to keep their relationship at the forefront, avoiding heavy focus on the murder investigation that centers them.
In addition to its hilarity and romance, the film delves into the philosophical themes of identity through Gary’s layered characterization. He is a divorcee who leads a lonely, ordinary, and mundane life. Suddenly, he gets a chance to be so many distinct characters, which he studies extensively and effortlessly embodies into multiple identities, serving as a meta-commentary on the art of acting, in which actors research and adapt to the specific roles that different films demand. And Glenn Powell, as an actor co-writing the film with Linklater, undoubtedly lends more depth to the character. As Gary incorporates Ron’s personality traits to maintain his relationship with Madison, he slowly starts to become like him: brave, charming, and full of confidence, all of which make him more attractive. “When did Mr. Johnson get so hot?” utters one of the students during a class. Through Gary’s character arc, the makers emphasize that love makes people do crazy, outside-the-box things, even if it means becoming someone else entirely, which weirdly reminded me of Aditya Chopra’s Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi (2008), where Shah Rukh Khan changes his persona to impress the girl that he loves. Ultimately, people’s life experiences and the company they keep (or want to keep) influence their identities.
If you’re looking for anything ethically appropriate—one in which characters pay for their sins—this may not meet your expectations because Linklater is clearly not concerned about the moral compass in the film. Instead, he subverts the noir conventions for the express purpose of making love triumph, which is exactly what viewers have been rooting for since the first time they saw Gary and Madison on-screen together.
From nerdy Gary to confident and swaggering Ron, Glen Powell demonstrates his acting versatility and delivers a standout performance worthy of cementing his status as a bona fide star. Adria Arjona is a sight to behold as a Femme Fatale, with her breathtaking beauty and sexual appeal as she flawlessly compliments Glen at every turn.
Hit Man movie links: IMDB, letterboxd
For more movie reviews and recommendations, visit our homepage
1970s 2023 Action Adventure alfred hitchcock black and white Buddy Comedy classic movies Crime criterion collection denzel washington Drama free movies on youtube French movies Gangster Giallo great films Horror indian movies John Flynn lucio fulci Mystery Neo noir netflix netflix movies new movies new releases Noir Paul Verhoeven Period Drama police procedural Psychological thriller Revenge reviews ridley scott Sci-Fi Slasher Spy movies supernatural suspense Thriller toshiro mifune war Western whodunit