[6]

George Clooney stars as an assassin-for-hire who’s getting tired of the job. He’s always looking over his shoulder, always afraid to trust anyone, always sleeping with one eye open. Can he turn over a new leaf, or will his past come back to haunt him? You know the answer. But don’t get the impression that The American is an action movie, because while there’s a little bit of gunfire, it’s not sensationalized in the least. The film is much more of an austere psychological drama anchored very well by Clooney’s performance. Director Anton Corbijn pays homage to the great Western (genre) film tradition, with a simple screenplay, relatively little dialogue, and spartan locations in Italy and Sweden. Coming from the world of music videos (having directed several for U2 and Depeche Mode over the last few decades), Corbijn lights and frames The American gorgeously.

It’s a superbly well made movie. I’m just not sure it’s going to excite many viewers. What I latched onto the most were Clooney’s relationships with women in the film. One woman is another assassin sent to buy a gun from him. The other is a prostitute who genuinely seems to be falling in love. Whenever he’s alone with either of them, you can tell he’s both interested and fearful — is she going to love me, or kill me?