Possibly one of the most overused tropes in crime cinema is that of the honorable hitman; a guy cold-blooded and malajusted enough to kill people for money, but who still is just normal enough to somehow still have just core values despite the fact that they know the quickest and most efficient way to dissolve a body. However, just leave it to Richard Linklater to find an original wrinkle to this oft-told tale: what if our hitman, wasn’t a hitman at all?
Thus lies the basic premise of Hit Man, a romantic comedy that sees its affable lead having to pretend to be a slew of fabricated professional killers in order to provide arrests in numerous sting opperations; but while Linklater is in firm ground here as the movie mulls over the nature of relationships while simultaneously mulls over the subjects of the id and the superego, the one to truly watch is actor and co-writer Glen Powell as he undergoes something of an impressive transformation himself.
Meet Gary Johnson, a professor of psychology and philosophy at the University of New Orleans who is so mild mannered and unassuming, you half expect him to wake up in a Kafkaesque nightmare having transformed overnight into a giant doormat. However, despite being the sort of guy who loves spending a quiet night in with his cats and is still best friends with his ex-wife, Gart has sort of a bad-ass side-hustle going on with the New Orleans Police Department.
You see, thanks to his natural talent with electronics, Gary works part time provide tech support for a trio of detectives as they mount sting operations for people plotting to have loved ones killed, but after the usual undercover guy gets suspended for violent behavior, the teacher suddenly finds himself all micced up and posing as a professional hitman in order to get a confession.
Not only does Gary prove to be pretty good as an undercover agent, but he soon throws himself into the role, using his extensive knowledge of the human psyche to tailor his role to whomever is hoping to hire his fake-ass services, thereby guaranteeing an almost 100% arrest rate. However, after adopting a vast amount of disguises to ensnare a confession, Gary soon runs into Madison, a woman who’s controlling husband has made her a shell of her former self; but rather than going all out to get her to incriminate herself as a charismatic assassin persona called “Roy”, he soon finds himself sympathising with the clearly traumatised woman and even finds himself attracted to her.
Rather than luring a confession out of her, he instead gives her advice, and from here, the two start dating without the knowledge of his police cronies. But even though Gary finds his actual personality merging with Roy’s in positive ways, surely no good can come from starting a relationship with a woman who wanted to kill her husband – can there?
While Netflix should be applauded for having the vision to get behind a comedy that’s way more thoughtful than it is hilarious and far more heartfelt than it is thrilling, there’s also a sense that Richard Linklater and Glen Powell’s incredibly endearing Hit Man deserves far better than a few limited cinema screenings before being tossed into the churning waters of a streaming algorithm. However, while my description of a thriller that isn’t trying to thrill and a comedy that rarely goes for big laughs may not sound like a particularly fun night in or out, there’s a very good chance that this movie will emerge as one of the years most likable features.
In many ways, Hit Man proves to be the perfect project for Linklater who has always been a noticably thoughtful filmmaker that’s prioritized character, relationships and plot over cheap gags and here, he seems to have merged the kind focus on a budding relationship we got from Before Sunrise, with the casual breeziness of School Of Rock that makes the whole endeavor seem oddly effortless. Of course, there’s no way that the director of Waking Life wouldn’t cram the film with numerous dissertations concerning the human condition, but the fact it takes the form of Gary’s classes means that Linklater gets to scratch that itch in a way that is natural and doesn’t offset the story.
The result is a nicely gentle comedy/drama/crime film that feels very much like a product of the 90s, but the real reason to flock to watch this movie is the bewitching ascension of Glen Powell as he delivers a cinematic calling card of impressive versatility. Anyone who is familiar with the actor solely from his role as the selfish “Hangman” from Top Gun: Maverick, could be forgiven for thinking he was just another Hollywood megawatt smirk beaming from under a hundred dollar haircut, but here he explodes into leading man territory with impressive style in a transformative role that evokes the sheer likability of one of the many Chrises that Marvel Studios has in their stable with the chameleonic abilities of a Christian Bale. While Gary is something of a sweet blank slate, his transformation into various criminal caricatures is a major highlight as he channels his love of the human condition into creating the optimum persona to seal the deal. In fact, some of the films biggest laughs come from some of the more outlandish aliases Gary adopts such as a Russian who dresses like Andy Warhol, a magnificent imitation of Patrick Bateman and a British killer whom I’d swear blind is supposed to be based off of Tilda Swinton. In fact, I’m convinced of it as both Bale and Swinton are renowned for their shape shifting abilities, so I’m willing to bet that these are homages to show that game recognises game.
However, Powell isn’t the only one turning in some superlative work, as Adria Arjona emerges from supporting roles in the likes of Morbius, Pacific Rim and Andor, to deliver a performance that somehow isn’t dwarfed by the central role and that manges to be likeable when in lesser hands, Madison could have easily slipped into the realms of male wish fulfilment.
While some may lament the low stakes and rather casual pace, Hit Man is a timely reminder that you don’t need so many bells and whistles when the range of your lead actor is a special effect in of itself. A near-perfectly judged film that contains a lead performance that should catapult its star into to the big leagues, Hit Man may be an utterly different animal to Netflix’s last film about a professional killer (David Fincher’s The Killer literally could not be more of a polar opposite), but this sort of navel gazing, thriller, anti-romcom doesn’t come around often, so it’s best to get it in your sights now.
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