The American (Review)

Anton Corbijn’s The American plays like an exercise in perpetual restraint. If I were to get a DVD of a more generic thriller and edited together the deleted scenes the result would likely be similar to this. I do not mean this as a disparaging remark, but it’s not necessarily a compliment either. It’s a most admirable undertaking, and as such it is able to distinguish itself from the pack of thrillers. The plot itself is your been-there-done-that story about a hitman going on one last job, but here there’s a notable twist: he’s not the one pulling the trigger. The film itself feels like the work of a man who has no desire to pull the trigger.

The film opens with a bearded George Clooney in Sweden, where a job ends on a sour note and with too many casualties. He runs off to Italy to lay low, but is given the job of constructing a weapon for a hit job. He won’t shoot it, he’ll just make it. The film follows Clooney’s hitman we know as “Jack” as he constructs his rifle, but his supposed hideaway in the Italian mountains begins to become a bit claustrophobic.

Jack is an absolute mystery to everyone, including the audience and perhaps himself. That’s the way it’s supposed to be. It’s when he lets his guard down that he is in the greatest danger. He is a ghost of a man that travels from town to town and country to country without creating a single identity anywhere he goes. We don’t only know him as Jack in this film, as that is likely not his real name, but also as Edward and Mr. Butterfly. To most however, he is exactly what the title implies: The American. Here one day, gone the next.

The film itself is, perhaps brilliantly, able to coalesce the identities of the protagonist and the film itself. Watching the movie is like watching something that is doomed to disappear without much impact. As many of the characters feel about Jack, I felt about the movie. I could not find a way in. Scene after scene is devoid of any real emotion, but I think this is intentional. I believe the film does exactly what it sets out to do, but that does not make an engaging film experience. There was something between myself and the screen. Good movies draw you in, but here is one that seems committed to keeping you out.

The American is about as good-looking as films get, shot after shot resembles a beautiful painting. I cannot think of a shot that lasted any less than a few seconds. It meditates while other films charge forward. However, it does so without any conversations about the nature of what they’re doing or the meaning of life or whatnot. There is little subtext to any dialogue. There is, however, a character that is able to get under Jack’s skin, as is necessary, and that character is Clara, a prostitute. When Clooney visits he requests only for her services. Through their encounters mutual feelings begin to form, and eventually Clooney decides to leave it all behind for this woman. However, there is no agency in the movies that lets their people go so willy-nilly.

The film does not build suspense with violence or the usual technical tricks. There is little or no music most of the film as well. I think Corbijn is going for a similar strategy that the Coen Brothers used in the brilliant No Country for Old Men, but it does not come close to reaching the same heights. What the Coens did in that film is remarkable and frankly downright impossible, and to this day it remains one of my favorite films of its decade. Instead The American comes out as a movie afraid of sudden movements.

Anton Corbijn was a prolific music video director in the 80’s and 90’s, making videos for such artists as U2, Depeche Mode, Nirvana, Johnny Cash and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. He’s even had some work in this past decade as well, including videos for The Killers and Coldplay. When most music video directors transition to film they take a more stylistically striking route than what Corbijn does here. I wouldn’t have guessed this was the work of a music video director, but instead of a photographer or the like.

Now comes the point in the review when I am supposed to render a final judgment, and this is one of those films I do not know if it matters what I “think”. Honestly, as an experience it left much to be desired, and the ending offers no real catharsis. On the other hand, it is well-crafted, well-told, and I think Clooney is quite good as he almost always is. So far The American has been incredibly divisive among critics, many praising it and others falling asleep. It is certainly bold; a thriller not about the payoffs but the process, and that is to be admired, but I felt it could have been done in a more engaging way. Maybe, however, its coldness is exactly the point. Either you’ll buy it, or you’ll find yourself squirming in your seat.

Rating: (out of 4)