I think this film deserves a bit more of a positive appraisal than its low score suggests it's getting. Several reviews - even the better ones - have noted that it's 'slow' or 'slow-moving'. Well, it is if you come into it expecting something along the lines of a Jason Statham or Liam Neeson hitman flick. But in terms of what this really is - a character study of a man facing up to mortality and the events that have shaped his life - then I think the pace is pretty much perfect.
I have to admit that I love films like this, where there isn't necessarily any need to keep on top of complex plot twists or location shifts, but where I can instead just settle down with a simple general story and follow the character wherever he leads me through it - and enjoy watching the true depth of his 'character' gradually emerge. I couldn't help but be reminded of Anton Corbijn's excellent 'The American', starring George Clooney. A very similar set-up: a hitman sent to a job that becomes a kind of holiday as well as a preparation for the ultimate task - but with a background sense of intrigue and suspicion about the whole situation, and who he can trust. Like that film, too, it needs an actor with a certain gravity to hold the attention. In this case, Ian McShane is the perfect choice.
I think, too, it deserves repeated viewings to appreciate both the subtle as well as the very obvious development of themes. Family is certainly important. The idea of a 'mother' always being there for certain characters, grounding them in the ordinary and mundane in particular ways, suggests the presence of meaningful connections in a world where they otherwise don't seem to exist any longer. And fatherhood, too. This comes out in Wilson's relationship with Gloria, and also with the young boy Max at the hotel - whose own father (and mother, come to that) is notably never seen, but only heard in snores or shouts. Max seems permanently abandoned to his own devices, usually sitting outside his parents' hotel room door playing alone. This set-up - with the friendship Max develops with Wilson - initially seemed unrealistic. How could parents be so neglectful of their child as to leave him alone and unattended for so much of the time - prey, say, to people like Wilson, who could so easily have entirely different motives? And if a child of mine ever came back to me and said that he'd won 30 Euros in a bet with a stranger on a beach, I think I'd do a bit more than simply suggest he give it back. As a plot device to show character depth, though, this relationship worked for me. It's clear that Wilson could, in a different set of circumstances and with a different career choice, have been a good father - and certainly more like the kind of father that Max (and, indeed, Gloria) needs. With this realisation, I think, we can't help but be sympathetic for Wilson - this rather lonely and isolated man, facing perhaps his final few years of life, unable to entirely relax into what he sees as a 'bit of a holiday' (we only see that black, heat-absorbing suit off once - in the spa pool scene), and demonstrating so much unfulfilled potential in other ways.
The climax, when it comes - and the long and gradual lead-up, I think, adds to its quick and sudden impact - is genuinely moving. Wilson is shown in all of his colours: the cold-blooded, unflinching killer... and the tender and vulnerable man: in essence, the loving father underneath it all. The years and experiences have broken through the emotional barriers he's striven to hold up for so long in order to do his job.
I'll definitely be coming back to this film. And I'd definitely recommend it to anyone who looks for more than just fast-paced blood and action for their 'hitman movie' satisfaction.
I have to admit that I love films like this, where there isn't necessarily any need to keep on top of complex plot twists or location shifts, but where I can instead just settle down with a simple general story and follow the character wherever he leads me through it - and enjoy watching the true depth of his 'character' gradually emerge. I couldn't help but be reminded of Anton Corbijn's excellent 'The American', starring George Clooney. A very similar set-up: a hitman sent to a job that becomes a kind of holiday as well as a preparation for the ultimate task - but with a background sense of intrigue and suspicion about the whole situation, and who he can trust. Like that film, too, it needs an actor with a certain gravity to hold the attention. In this case, Ian McShane is the perfect choice.
I think, too, it deserves repeated viewings to appreciate both the subtle as well as the very obvious development of themes. Family is certainly important. The idea of a 'mother' always being there for certain characters, grounding them in the ordinary and mundane in particular ways, suggests the presence of meaningful connections in a world where they otherwise don't seem to exist any longer. And fatherhood, too. This comes out in Wilson's relationship with Gloria, and also with the young boy Max at the hotel - whose own father (and mother, come to that) is notably never seen, but only heard in snores or shouts. Max seems permanently abandoned to his own devices, usually sitting outside his parents' hotel room door playing alone. This set-up - with the friendship Max develops with Wilson - initially seemed unrealistic. How could parents be so neglectful of their child as to leave him alone and unattended for so much of the time - prey, say, to people like Wilson, who could so easily have entirely different motives? And if a child of mine ever came back to me and said that he'd won 30 Euros in a bet with a stranger on a beach, I think I'd do a bit more than simply suggest he give it back. As a plot device to show character depth, though, this relationship worked for me. It's clear that Wilson could, in a different set of circumstances and with a different career choice, have been a good father - and certainly more like the kind of father that Max (and, indeed, Gloria) needs. With this realisation, I think, we can't help but be sympathetic for Wilson - this rather lonely and isolated man, facing perhaps his final few years of life, unable to entirely relax into what he sees as a 'bit of a holiday' (we only see that black, heat-absorbing suit off once - in the spa pool scene), and demonstrating so much unfulfilled potential in other ways.
The climax, when it comes - and the long and gradual lead-up, I think, adds to its quick and sudden impact - is genuinely moving. Wilson is shown in all of his colours: the cold-blooded, unflinching killer... and the tender and vulnerable man: in essence, the loving father underneath it all. The years and experiences have broken through the emotional barriers he's striven to hold up for so long in order to do his job.
I'll definitely be coming back to this film. And I'd definitely recommend it to anyone who looks for more than just fast-paced blood and action for their 'hitman movie' satisfaction.