Want to hear more from the actors and creators of your favorite shows and films? Subscribe to The Cinema Spot on YouTube for all of our upcoming interviews!
Lead Critic for the site, as well as serving as an editor when needed.
Richard Linklater can be said to be one of the best “slice of life” working filmmakers ever; from early hits like Dazed and Confused to Before Sunrise, he has continued that run through the modern cinema landscape, including his recent two films on Netflix.
Oftentimes, his characters are seemingly average people attempting to live dangerously in some way. They could just be doing something they normally wouldn’t do outside of the film. My personal favorite of Linklater’s, School of Rock, features a washed-up rockstar, played by Jack Black, posing as a fake substitute teacher while claiming to be his best friend at the same time. Chaos ensues at perfect levels. The same can be said for the writer-director’s latest film, Hit Man, another Netflix film deserving a wide theatre release.
Co-written with lead Glen Powell, Linklater’s latest is another great example of his tight-knit filmography. The script allows for the most outrageous of hijacks, and Powell’s narration also adds a great meta feel to the film that is nicely unexpected. A 2001 Texas Monthly article written by Skip Hollandsworth was the original basis for the script.
Are They Even Real?
Special forces and places like the CIA and Russian KGB train people to be the ultimate killer, but how many of these people actually become whatever a hitman truly is? It is a funny idea when one really sits and thinks about it. That you could just hire someone to make your “problem” disappear is honestly quite amusing. Powell and Linklater play around with this idea throughout the Netflix title’s runtime. They even open the film with famous scenes from hitmen-centered films and television programs, such as In Bruges and Barry.
Inspired by the real guy, Gary Johnson (Powell) is a philosophy and psychology professor at the University of New Orleans who gains additional income working with the New Orleans Police. Eventually, he begins to pose as various hitmen for the police, making hundreds of arrests over several years. This aspect happens both within the film and in real life, which is perhaps one of the only true things about this story.
Charisma & Charm
Hit Man is a great turn for Glen Powell. He continues to show that he can be one of the greatest leading men of his generation, but this is a perfect display of his comedic timing. It also helps that he co-wrote this Netflix title, and the dialogue moves it along well. The dialogue is honestly quite real most of the time and is what makes Richard Linklater’s films so good and relatable.
Even amongst his foil characters, most of the goings-on and conversations within the film could happen to any of us, except, of course, those elements that make for a great film. No logical person would pretend to be a substitute teacher, or pose as a hitman and then fall in love with someone he is supposed to arrest, followed by the cover-up of the death of a dirty cop.
It is almost ingenious that Powell co-wrote the script because he plays everything so smoothly. There are also moments where Powell has to “switch” between the character of Gary Johnson and specifically one hitman character, Ron. As Gary, he raises his voice an octave or two, and it really adds to the comedic element of Hit Man. These moments help move some of the character development along but also can be relatable to some of us. Oftentimes the personality we display at work can be almost entirely different from the one at home or with our friends.
Even within the film’s wilder moments, it is such a fun time. While not so wild, even Powell throwing a football with a group of kids at a puppy adoption is a quick moment and it does not feel out of place within the film. For the most part, Gary Johnson is a regular guy who is way in over his head with his love interest, Madison (Adria Arjona).
Technical Details
Juliana Hoffpauir’s costume design is key here. As Gary Johnson, Powell dons some of his nerdiest outfits on screen, but it doesn’t distract from the change he makes as each hitman. Graham Reynolds’s score and Shane F. Kelly’s cinematography are subtle and strong, of which Linklater makes the most effort. Hit Man features some of Linklater’s best camera work, and while the action beats are few and far between, the film does not seem to need that many to be successful.
Final Thoughts on Richard Linklater’s Netflix Film, Hit Man
Hit Man is unexpected in the best way. It can be difficult sometimes to properly execute every beat to appeal to everyone like it does. Act Two can be a little slow, but Act Three truly helps tie up the loose ends within the film. The film’s constant pop culture references are not too tiring either, and again, this element adds to the comedic element of the story. Linklater’s films are hard to dislike because his filmography contains a lot of the same things within each film.
Hit Man also deals with some philosophical ideologies such as the need for desire and pleasure via men like Nietzsche and Freud, as well as moral and ethical discourse. Had the romance element not been a big part of the film, it could have fed into these themes more. Although, they probably would not have worked as Powell and Linklater wanted, and the end result here is a great choice otherwise. The Texan filmmaker and his co-writer have a great partnership on their hands. If nothing else, you should check this one out for Powell’s take on Patrick Bateman.
4/5 stars.
Richard Linklater’s Hit Man is now streaming on Netflix!
For more from The Cinema Spot, along with our ongoing coverage of this month’s Tribeca Film Festival, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!
Lead Critic for the site, as well as serving as an editor when needed.
This article was edited by John Tangalin.