Certification. 15
Running Time. 1 hour 45 mins
Director. Anton Corbijn
Cast. Paolo Bonacelli, George Clooney, Johan Leysen, Violante Placido, Thekla Reuten.
Rating. 61%
Acclaimed music video director, Anton Corbijn has worked with the likes of Depeche Mode, Joy Division and U2 over the course of his career. The Dutch director followed the 2007 Ian Curtis biography, Control with the 2010 film, The American. Based on the novel, A Very Private Gentleman by Martin Booth, George Clooney stars as Jack, the eponymous American. But unlike Booth's original material, Clooney's retiring gun-maker poses as a landscape photographer rather than a painter of rare Lepidoptera.
Without doubt, The American is lovely to look at. Corbijn's visuals are breathtaking. From beautiful expansive aerial panoramas of the Abruzzo countryside to the claustrophobic labyrinth of Escher-esque alleyways and side streets. He is certainly aided by his Director of Photography, Martin Ruhe who ensures the crisp, monochromatic arctic landscape of the opening scene is in sharp contrast to the majesty of Castel del Monte, a luxuriant palette of gold, mustard and butterscotch. Equally captivating is the alluring and seductive Violante Placido (Carla). She frequently dominates the screen, perhaps because George Clooney is content to fade into the background and let the story unfold through supporting characters. The American could have easily been a vehicle for George Clooney, but instead, he has the maturity and confidence to downplay his role. His presence is enough.
But the film does suffer from undeveloped characters (Father Benedetto and his son, Fabio a case in point) and a series of clumsy and unsubtle metaphors. The disappointing climax delivers an unrevelatory and unsurprising confrontation, which is pedestrian and lightweight.
Conversely, Jack concludes the film with a single smash of his fist on the steering wheel, which tragically demonstrates the emotion he has been repressing throughout. In this one scene, which is beautifully shot and sensitively portrayed, we see all that he is and all that he could be. If only.
The American is a stylish thriller with scant action, instead, Corbijn offers a character study of a hitman seeking absolution. What works is the film's atmosphere, but ultimately The American fails to match the intensity and the heart of Luc Besson's tour de force, Léon.
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