If anyone is any indication of who the man named Glen Powell is, Hit Man should be considered the ultimate answer to settling this thing once and for all. The actor delivers a blistering, star-making performance in Richard Linklater’s new killer comedy. Our main character is a professor who teaches Nietzsche by day when we first meet him, and in the next few moments, he’s working as a fake hitman working for the New Orleans Works Department. From Gary Johnson to Ron, and the hundred new characters in between who prop him up, Powell powers through this film, which is both nihilistic and incredibly funny. The best part is that it’s (almost) based on a true story! (Also read: Glen Powell on the challenges he faces as a writer: Hollywood is not a meritocracy)
Gary is a simple guy, teaches philosophy at the University of New Orleans, and lives at home with his cats Id and Ego. He’s a guy who’s okay with being boring. His part-time job at the police department gets a boost when an undercover hitman named Jasper (Austin Amelio) disappears and is suspended in a case of police brutality. So Gary has to work as a hitman-for-hire for people who want to recruit him for this dirty work. Powell, who also shares screenwriting credit with Linklater, has a lot of fun in these early scenes, where our newly hired hitman does a lot of research to get into a role. He creates a different identity for each new case, and plays out the fantasy of a hitman who would be best suited for a client.
The stakes of this unbelievable tale take a complicated turn when he meets the beautiful but frightened Madison (Adria Argiona), who wants to hire him to kill her husband. She is so upset that she cannot eat the pie on the table without apologizing. She says her husband has put her on this diet. He is impressed by her naked honesty and lets her go. This change in the routine of his life takes the mood into unknown territory.
Hit Man is a strange and unsettling film, seamlessly morphing from a silly comedy to a sly romantic thriller and a full-blown shot in the dark. Linklater matches the pace of the film’s central character, and keeps hinting at change while keeping the implications off camera. The anticipation somehow drags after a point in the second half, even as the existential core of the film comes to the fore. Sandra Adair’s editing work is the real winner, as well as Bruce Curtis’ elegant production design. The second half of the film comes dangerously close to breaking point, but the editor-director duo finds an uncompromising kind of balance between thrills and danger.
However, the main female protagonist’s character is very poorly written which lessens the overall impact of Hit Man. Arjona’s Madison is always hot and sexy, but also scared and incredibly naive. The shock interplay in the final moment doesn’t add up as the character has no scope of her own in this film. Who is Madison when Ron is there? No Who is in the house? Who is she hiding from? We may never know. It helps that Arjona and Powell have great chemistry with each other, which somehow compensates for these frustrating inconsistencies.
Hit Man is playful and surprisingly deep, and one of the strangest romantic comedies to come along in a while. One moment you’re having fun, and the next it’s suddenly a shock. This is Linklater still taking risks, flying without any consideration of the necessary take-off. You’ll either land or miss everything. There’s nothing in between.
Hit Man releases on Netflix on June 7.
