The American

Synopsis: Jack (George Clooney) makes state-of-the art weapons to be used for assassinations, some of which he also carries out. After an assignment in Sweden ends badly he heads to the remote and peaceful mountain countryside of Abruzzo, Italy to hole up. There he takes on a commission to assemble a special gun for Mathilde (Thekla Reuten). Warned against making friends he tries to keep to himself, but gets acquainted with the local priest, Father Benedetto (Paolo Bonacelli), and a prostitute, Clara (Violante Placido) and is dogged by the constant feeling that unknown people are out to get him.

Based on the novel "A Very Private Gentleman" by Martin Booth, this excellent film is at heart about a man seeking redemption from a life of doing bad things. The film draws its strength firstly from Corbijn’s excellent directorial skills. He was highly lauded for his first feature Control (2007), about  Ian Curtis, the lead singer of Joy Division, a man who, like Jack, faced many demons. Corbijn comes from a photographic background and has a brilliant sense of what he wants from his cinematographer Martin Ruhe. Together they create an irresistible sense of tension and paranoia.

The opening episode is set in Dalarna, Sweden, with a wide and slowly panned shot to a snow-bound cottage from which Jack and a female companion emerge only to be confronted by unseen gunmen. The sudden shock of ugliness and evil intruding into serenity and beauty is a tdevoce that carries throughout the film. Corbijn knows how to take his time with what he wishes to convey, making this film with its lingering shots, a refreshing change from typical Hollywood movies of this genre. He also understands the strength of silence (as opposed to overbearing music), and only uses music sparingly as required.

Filming takes place mainly in the mountainous areas of Abruzzo, and a fortress-like village, with its winding maze of cobblestoned streets a perfect setting into which Jack can disappear. Powerful use is made of many widescreen, overarching shots, which contrast brilliantly with the many close-up shots of Jack’s face and his painstaking work in weapon assembling.

Clooney is in almost every one of the shots, a big ask for an actor, but, as expected, he rises to the occasion magnificently. Jack is a man feeling isolated and threatened, no doubt feeling a lot more than he verbalises. Clooney is an actor who is able to communicate by facial expression and he excels at here, with much time spent focussing just on him in his isolation. The isolation of their jobs is what links Jack with Clara, who develop a palpable chemistry. Both these people look marvellous on screen, and under their personae both sharing a vulnerability and a lingering wish that perhaps life could be different. Both are beginning to discover rarely seen beauty in their lives. For Jack, much of this has to do with his passion for that most delicate of creatures, the butterfly. By contrast Mathilde is like a younger version of Jack, and there are some marvellous scenes of unspoken competitiveness and mistrust between them.

There is a strong moral undercurrent in this story – the idea that a life badly lived must be paid but this in turn depends on the bigger question of whether there can ever be redemption. The priest gets screen-time to deliver several pointed observations on this issue. Several things occur in the plot that are unclear, but in a way that leaves the audience open to interpret for themselves, again a change from the endless hit-you-over-the-head explication that so many mainstream thrillers employ. I came out enthusiastically discussing possibilities with fellow critics, and delighting in having a found a film that is both gripping and beautifully-made while starring one of Hollywood’s hottest stars, an actor who constantly surprises by raising the bar time and time again.

 

Want something different?