4 stars****
I missed this at the cinema, but I wish I hadn’t. It was on my long list to see, but time beat me so it was handy winning this DVD in a movie competition.This is a brilliant mix of assassin and comedy; a blend not usually brought together so effectively.Ben Kingsley stars as the assassin with a problem – he’s an alcoholic. He goes to AA meetings and tells the assembly that he’s Frank, an alcoholic and he kills people. Only his drinking is getting in the way of his performance so his bosses have sent him for treatment so he can turn himself around and get back to the killing.
Sir Ben turns in an extremely comic role mixed with the audience’s belief that he could very well be an assassin. He’s returned to his skills from the outstanding Sexy Beast.
The second star of the show is Téa Leoni. Her role lulls you into a sense of a tough woman who accepts being the girlfriend of a paid killer far too easily – can’t she find a normal boyfriend? However, her acting skills gradually turn her around to be a loving partner, supporting Kingsley as he goes through his drinking problems, while she finally helps him on one of his murder missions.
Of course it’s too unbelievable; it’s meant to be, but underneath there’s always the sneaky feeling that it just might be based on a real story and some hearsay.
Writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely have squeezed a quality result into their 89 minutes of screenplay. They have managed several successes here; to keep the movie flowing along, no breaks for being bored and gaining sympathy with a killer, for the audience. They’ve created marvellous dialogue for those of us who haven’t yet been assassins; this is probably what we’d expect to have to say if we take up that occupation. No doubt a full time assassin can tell us with their comments on this movie review.
I’m told that the AA meetings are extremely realistic as are the hilarious scenes in the mortuary (they’re not to be missed) where Frank works. When you mix the two we see the writers have prepared their research well and turned in a very good creation.
We all know Sir Ben Kingsley’s first class acting past, however; I must source some more Téa Leoni movies as she’s punched above the level with this film so must see what else she’s completed.
Great fun in the dark side of life.
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