Film Review: THE AMERICAN (2010)

Directors: Anton Corbijn
Running time: 105 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 15

Genre: Crime/Drama
UK Release date: 26^th November 2010

Watched on Sky+ Sunday 23^rd October 2011.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

First of all, sorry it’s a bit of a short review this time… So many films, so little time! From the same director who brought the most excellent (IMO) Control (2007), this deliberately slowly paced thriller is quite a treat… if you’re in the mood. Don’t get me wrong, it’s far from perfect, but I’ll tell you more about its faults later. Here’s a very brief summary first.

After an incident in Sweden, assassin Jack is told by his handler, Pavel, to hide out in a small town in rural Italy. Now calling himself Edward, whilst there he is commissioned to manufacture a weapon for the mysterious Mathilde. He also forms friendship with the local priest, Father Benedetto and more than a friendship with a prostitute, Clara, but his enemies are closing in. There, short and concise… I can only hope the Spoiler Police are happy with that one! Don’t like the thought of them sending someone after me.

The film hangs very much on the performance of George Clooney as Jack/Edward and he really nails on a great one here! Also worthy of note were; Violante Placido as Clara, Thekla Reuten as Mathilde and Paolo Bonacelli as Father Benedetto, all were also excellent. An honourable mention goes to Johan Leysen as Pavel.

A very slow and deliberate pace to this film makes for an absorbing watch. I know many will not agree, but I found it quite entertaining. As I said at the beginning, it’s got some faults, one being that I found the occasional subtitles very hard to read. A very small font tucked away at the bottom of the screen really didn’t work! Apart from that, quite an enthralling plot drags the audience in and takes them into Jack’s dangerous world. I liked it!... Recommended (but it’s not for everyone).

My Score: 7.0/10.

IMDb Score: 6.5/10 (based on 36,480 votes at the time of going to press).
http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt1440728/

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 66/100 (based on 206 reviews counted at the time of going to press).
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/american/

If you’re crazy enough… You can find me on Facebook at:
http://facebook.com/andy.steel3

FAVOURITE QUOTES:
Pavel: And above all... don't make any friends, Jack. You used to know that.

Father Benedetto: A man can be rich, if he has God in his heart.
Jack: I don't think God is very interested in me, Father.

Clara: [speaking to Jack] You are a good man but, you have a secret.

LINKS:
Official Blog (by Anton Corbijn): http://focusfeatures.com/profile/anton_corbijn
Official Site: http://focusfeatures.com/the_american
Trailer: