Summary

Hit Man tackles several major talking points in the film industry, including the lack of feature-length comedies, young movie stars, and sex in mainstream cinema. Despite its acquisition by Netflix and the disappointment from critics, the film is likely to find success in any release format. It is funny, engrossing, sexy, and thoughtful, making it a great pick for movie night at home. The film explores the idea of role play and the nature of identity, examining whether it is mutable or constant. The premise is intriguing and the script delves into the concept both comedically and philosophically, resulting in a thrilling and enjoyable experience.

I’d be surprised if it was intended this way, but I can’t help but see Hit Man as Richard Linklater’s response to today’s state-of-the-movies discussions. It addresses at least three of the major talking points: the dirth of feature-length comedies; the vacuum of young movie stars; and the absence of sex in mainstream cinema. Its acquisition by Netflix after lighting up festivals has been met with dismay from the critical community, because it could’ve tackled a fourth: the lack of non-franchise, non-family targeted options in theaters. No matter – I believe this film will find success however it releases. Hit Man is funny, engrossing, sexy, and thoughtful. As well as it plays to a packed audience, I have no doubt it’ll deliver as the pick for movie night at home, though I would at least recommend getting together a few people you’d enjoy laughing with before queuing it up.

Based on the true story recounted in a 2001 Texas Monthly article of the same name, this film introduces us to the unromantic (but comforting) idea that hit men don’t actually exist. Gary Johnson (Glen Powell), a philosophy professor by trade, works part-time with the New Orleans police undercover team, helping them with their recording tech. They prey on our fiction-induced belief in paid killers by having contact info for a hit man in circulation. Whenever someone reaches out, an officer plays the part, and gets them to order the murder on tape. Only, one day, their usual guy can’t make the meet, and Gary, as bland a man as there ever was, is suddenly asked to fill in. Turns out, he’s good at it, and he enjoys it. He starts researching his marks and building himself characters to play, based on what he believes they’d imagine a hit man to be.

Adria Arjona and Glen Powell in Hit Man

Gary has a lot of fun with it, and so does Powell, showing off a delightful comic range to pair with his natural charisma. For a while, things go well. Gary sees the gig as field-testing for his day job, exploring the questions about the nature of identity he’s been mulling over. Then, he meets Madison (Adria Arjona). She set a meet to take care of her domineering, abusive husband, and Gary goes as Ron, virtually his opposite: suave, spontaneous, easy-going. They instantly click, and as their exchange turns flirtatious, he sees her as a good person caught up in a bad situation. He goes rogue and, without giving himself away, nudges her toward leaving her husband instead of the extreme route she intended. She walks away without incriminating herself, and Gary’s colleagues chastise him for playing therapist. But soon, Madison reaches out again. She’s free of her husband and wants to meet up – with Ron the hit man.

Now the true test of identity arises. Will being Ron often enough fundamentally change Gary? It’s a great premise, and one that Hit Man takes care not to waste. The idea of role play is baked into all parts of the script, which Powell co-wrote with Linklater. Its application as a comedic conceit is clear, and the movie is genuinely interested in it philosophically as well, exploring whether identity is always a matter of playing a role (and therefore mutable) or something more intrinsic (and therefore constant). The same idea is also the bedrock of Ron and Madison’s connection – in their first meeting, they playfully act out an impromptu skit, and sparks fly. The film only continues stacking layers of performance as Gary starts to lose his grip on the situation, and the effect is thrillingly destabilizing. Linklater refuses to sit back and coast on a winning set-up; there’s a liveliness to the way Hit Man is structured that’s so enjoyable to experience.

Glen Powell and Adria Arjona in Hit Man

It helps that Powell and Arjona have incredible, Out of Sight-esque chemistry. There’s an improvisational feel to their scenes together, not in the sense that the actors seem to be riffing, but in the tenor of their characters’ behavior. It genuinely feels like Gary/Ron and Madison are being guided by an instinctual attraction to one another, planning only to be in the same room and see where things go from there. Given that one of them is pretending to be a different person, it’s a fascinating energy to have. With Madison escaping her husband, and Gary escaping himself, they are, in a sense, each other’s liberation. Their sex (in addition to furthering their affinity for role play) is an expression of their newfound freedom to enjoy themselves, and even when they argue, there’s a sparkle in Arjona’s eye that captures a love for that very moment’s unpredictability.

The supporting cast does quality work as well, with Retta scoring plenty of laughs and Austin Amelio getting the meatiest role as Jasper, the undercover cop Gary replaces. But these lead performances are absolutely critical. There is a crowd-pleasing smoothness to Hit Man’s storytelling that belies the movie’s willingness to push our ethical buttons; if we don’t believe in the fundamental truth of the central bond, everything falls apart. Because we do, we find ourselves rooting for them always, even in spite of our better judgment. Linklater has that ability to get his audience thinking without making us feel like we’re being prodded or provoked, and Powell as both co-writer and screen presence proves the perfect avatar for that sensibility. Savor Hit Man, however you come across it – it’s not every day the movies entertain us in this way at this level of execution anymore.

Hit Man premiered at the Venice Film Festival and does not yet have a US release date. The film is 113 minutes long and is not yet rated.