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George Clooney plays Jack, an American assassin in Rome, in the European-flavored espionage drama “The American.” |
Anton Corbijn’s contemplative espionage drama “The American” marks a throwback to the existentialist spy movies of the 1960s flavored with a touch of European cinema.
That’s code for: It doesn’t come close to the action-packed thriller that the trailers and TV commercials suggest.
This fatalistic character study – and this film does a lot of studying – is steeped in the creeping sense of paranoia, isolation, distrust and loneliness experienced by an American assassin named Jack, played with soulful eyes and a heavy heart by George Clooney.
Forget the hyperactive high jinks of Jason Bourne and the thrills of a 007 feature film.
If “The American” recalls Ian Fleming’s James Bond, it’s only during the spy’s literary, never-filmed introspective moments when Agent 007 exercised in his hotel room to stay fit and stave off boredom.
Clooney plays Jack, an American agent whom we never know much about.
After dispatching an attacker during a snowy shootout in Sweden, Jack gets orders from his gravel-voiced supervisor (Johan Leysen) to head to Rome and wait. And wait.
Eventually, Jack meets his conscience in the form of a kindly priest (Paolo Bonacelli) who possesses a heart of gold and exceptional English skills.
Jack also meets his might-have-been dream girl in the form of a beautiful, loving prostitute (Rome-born actress Violante Placido) who also possesses a heart of gold and absolutely no latent male hatred issues.
The plot, or what passes for one in “The American,” kicks in when a hot, international assassin of vague political orientation (Thekla Reuten) approaches Jack to build a specialized weapon she can use for an unspecified target. (Read more…)