The American

 

I like how this starts, with very few words spoken, and little more than sudden violence in an isolated snowy area to introduce us to our guy.

"Jack" (possibly not his real name) customises guns for assassins. It's a dangerous job, and means he can't really be close to anyone. This doesn't stop him trying, though, and he ends up having to kill a women that likes him. He isn't very American, either, as he has a passport and has left the country and can speak some Italian - not even the Sopranos could do that. As the movie progresses his need for a personal life and the conflict this encourages cause him some major problems (Major Problems) and he has to choose between his loyalty to his job (and the protection that it affords) and an Italian girl who likes butterflies.
Shocker - he goes for the girl, and from there the action escalates pretty quickly into the movie's climactic scenes.

  

 

It starts in Norway, and I was hoping he'd stay in there, as I like Norway as a setting, but he quickly moves to Rome. As he drives through a tunnel, and comes out into a burst of brightness from the daylight beyond, i am reminded of 'O'Horten' that had this exact scene but in a train. 'O'Horten' did it better.
He ends up going to the Castel del Monte, which I think MC Escher did a very nice stylised wood prints of early in his career (I could be wrong, but they do look similar in any case. Kind of like Minas Tirith from 'The Lord of the Rings'.

The action sequences are well choreagraphed and exciting, without Jack having super powers, or even skills that far outmatch those of his rivals. The film is full of nicely framed shots, and the camera rarely moves (it's always nice to see an overarching style in cinematography, even if I don't like it personally - not that I don't like this one). From what I hear of the novel that this movie was based on, Cloony stays fairly loyal to the protagonists original character. Oh yeah, and everyone else's acting was fair throughout. I got a bit bored of the relationship side of the film though, for no reason other than the amount of time spent on it. We get it - he's lonely.

'Tu Vuò Fà L'Americano' is playing in the background as he sits in a cafe. I like that song

 

The American: 41.2