The American
Director: Anton Corbijn
Screenwriter: Rowan Joffe
Starring: George Clooney, Violante Placido, Thekla Reuten, Paolo Bonacelli
Genre: Suspense Thriller
Clooney is characteristically superb as the paranoid, tormented Jack, a role that calls for a tremendous degree of subtlety, if not range. Corbijn tasks him, along with co-stars Bonacelli and Placido, to carry a determinedly minimalist film that boasts no fancy tricks up its sleeve, and they deliver admirably.Anton Corbijn’s absorbing new thriller, The American, is based on a novel entitled A Very Private Gentleman, which quite aptly sums up its main character, Jack (George Clooney).
As an assassin, Jack (Clooney) is constantly on the move and always alone. After a job in Sweden ends more harshly than expected for this American abroad, Jack retreats to the Italian countryside. He relishes being away from death for a spell as he holes up in a small medieval town. While there, Jack takes an assignment to construct a weapon for a mysterious contact, Mathilde (Reuten). Savoring the peaceful quietude he finds in the mountains of Abruzzo, Jack accepts the friendship of local priest Father Benedetto (Bonacelli) and pursues a torrid liaison with a beautiful woman, Clara (Placido). Jack and Clara's time together evolves into a romance, one seemingly free of danger. But by stepping out of the shadows, Jack may be tempting fate.
