The Hit Man Review
The Hit Man – Gary Johnson (Glenn Powell), is a single, seemingly satisfied philosophy professor at the University of New Orleans. He enjoys his hobbies, and in his spare time does part-time surveillance work for the New Orleans Police Department. However, after their man in the field, Jasper (Austin Amelio), is suspended, Gary is thrown into the undercover cop gig without warning. At first flustered, it soon appears Gary has a knack for playing the hitman, gaining in confidence after each arrest. One day, under the guise of hitman Ron, Gary’s double life begins to become murky after he falls for Maddison (Adria Arjona), a woman desperate to get rid of her abusive husband. Believing Maddison could only be interested in Ron, Gary commits to his performance as the charismatic assassin, leaving a tangled web of lies and complications in his wake.
Written and directed by Richard Linklater (The Before trilogy, Boyhood and The School of Rock) and co-written by Glenn Powell himself, The Hit Man is a witty, charming comedy that may be the summer’s most playfully exciting film. The film’s comical sequences in which Gary plays a variety of different hitmen are always a delight in seeing what outlandish caricatures he comes up with next, constantly concluding in a whacky mugshot sequence that feels like something from a prank show. The romance born from fabrication between Gary and Maddison is instantly fraught, simultaneously exuding sensual harmony from its two leads.
Glenn Powell only solidifies himself further as a true Hollywood star, bringing an effortlessly cool persona to Ron; all the while pulling off a quaint, docile aura whenever he returns to his true self. Powell manages to ground the silliness of his situation with dramatic conviction whenever the stakes are high, but never loses his comedic senses throughout. Adria Arjona is Powell’s perfect pairing, bringing immediate weight to the narrative from her first scene, shaking up the story with a chaotic lightning bolt. The Hit Man’s tension and stakes build naturally over the course of its dangerous romance, with exciting twists and turns that lead to a nail-biting third act.
There is a clear purpose to Linklater and Powell’s romp, engaging in ideas of authenticity and the true self. In Gary’s case, there is a distinction between performance and truth, using Ron as way to satisfy his impulses, while Gary symbolises the righteous super-ego. As the plot progresses, there is a subtle marriage between the two, subsequently indulging in ideas on the necessity of performance and its function to create a possibly better version of ourselves in the quest for validation. Within its slightly ridiculous confounds, The Hit Man asks these questions as to whether validation only comes once the outside world feels drawn to our personality, whether through a change in appearance, confidence, or outright performance. By the film’s end there is a sordidly sweet answer to this question, a conclusion which might go too far for some but ultimately proves the rewards of coming to terms with our true selves.
Score - 8/10
The Hit Man premieres on Netflix worldwide June 7th.