Review by Bryce Zabel
We are fascinated by hit men. Especially hit men who seem be having existential doubts about their chosen profession. Nearly ten years ago, John Cusak gave it a shot with Grosse Pointe Blank, and this year Pierce Brosnan made his James Bond persona look "like a Thai hooker on Sunday morning after the Navy's left town" as his character says in The Matador.
"Killing's easy. Living's hard."
I love John Cusak in almost everything I see him in but Pierce Brosnan is a revelation, playing Julian Noble. He really deserves an Oscar nomination for this. Honestly, I don't think I've ever liked this actor more than I have in this role. Superb.
Richard Shephard's script and direction for The Matador are also superior to Grosse Pointe Blank. Not that I think running into a hit man in a Mexico hotel room is a likely scenario as happens to Greg Kinnear in this latest film, but at least the friendship which develops between them has real character to it and a vibe that feels possible. On the other hand, virtually the whole set-up of Gross Pointe Blank is contrived. In that film, Cusak just happens to have a hit to do in a town where his 10th year high school re-union is being held. And there are supporting characters like Dan Akroyd, playing another hitman who wants to organize a union of hitmen, that just seems like a stretch. In The Matador, there are no coincidences, the characters move the plot by being who they are.
The Matador. Because it's about a real friendship between damaged people who need each other and it's made even more real by a spectacular performance by its star.
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