Movie Man Darian Watching All Night Long

Hitman 

This film is brilliant and one of Richard Linklater’s best film in years that is destined to become a classic! Now I heard about this film a while back when I heard Glen Powell and Linklater were working together on a film I got excited as I think he is one of the best creative directors in Hollywood that dose not get nearly enough credit for his amazing vision he puts into his films. Now this film delves with the justice system, having multiple personalities, it discusses also themes of creating a whole new personality and compressing the other very interesting discussions are brought front and centre during this amazing tale and it is done in such a way where you can’t wait to see where the story will bring you next. Hit Man is able to be a fantastic showcase for Glen Powell giving a onscreen leading performance that will now make him a name to truly keep a eye on as Hit Man is tremendous in terms of performance story and style. 

Firstly, Hit Man is a masterpiece in terms of storytelling and character structure and I will break down why! Now Richard Linklater is one of the most brilliant screenwriters I have ever seen as it should come to no one’s surprise how well he can structure a narrative with his Before Sunset trilogy, School Of Rock his cinematic achievement with Boyhood to films like Last Flag Flying and Dazed and Confused the man knows how to make a compelling narrative. Seeing him tackle a topic like Hired hit man but not just as a straightforward action thriller he makes a film about a teacher that works part time for the police department that gets one day thrust into being a undercover cop and using disguises to bait people to incriminate themselves. The way he is able to make the film delve deep into the psychological theory of personality change and how to mold ones self into any version of a person they would want if you took the detailed steps to work on yourself in order to do it while essentially putting the original version of yourself tuned down but still their. He explains this fantastic view of it through the scenes of the lead character when he is teaching his students so it never feels out of place he smartly positions it in a area that would make sense for both the character to discuss it but also have it be a way for the audience to learn about said topic directly as if they were one of the students in the class. So his ability to really go knuckle deep into how the main character is quite literarily applying the lessons he is teaching to his students to his work life is so fascinating as we see first hand how it is very affective when he applies it to his undercover police persona. Now he is able to discuss these larger themes without it becoming boring as he also switches up the tone through the course of the film as their are elements of mystery, Romance and great witty comedy and he is able to visit all of those genres and skilfully add them to the narrative in a way that is beneficial for the story and in a way that the audience will find entertaining. As we see from the lead characters point of view how smart and sharp he is and that he is successful in his arrests as he sticks to the job and never gets personal until he meets one person where he throws all of his ethics right out the window and starts doing things that he usually wouldn’t do because he has developed feelings which isn’t good as then he can’t successfully do his job now without thinking emotionally. So the way the film explores those dramatic aspects is great as she has no idea he is a police man but the fantastic comedy arises from Glen Powell’s ability to have this dry humour and wit to his performance and so the film is able to juggle the humour without it seeming forced. The sheer brilliance Richard crafted in his tone to make this a multiple personality film mixed with psychological discussion on the topic along with romance and comedy is such a fun aspect that made the film really shine and Linklater knows how to make a film feel stylish but also create characters that are written well that is why the tone and writing for this is among some of the best of the year I have seen. 

Secondly, The performance from Glen Powell is outstanding! Now this man has been having a great year with Twister and now Hit Man he has truly had a great year to show people that he is a name that will take the film industry by storm due to his ability to present amazing characters with his tremendous acting ability and fantastic charm. He applies that to this character in a performance that I would rank among his most strongest as since he gets to dabble in a role that is about changing personalities he really gets to play around in different areas with so many different layers of characters so he can show a whole range of emotions that are only for that specific persona he has to put on for a client which works wonders for his performance as it feels like a peak into so many faces and disguises we get to see him wear. And he shows all of them in such a believable and fun way that comes across so authentic without ti feeling cartoonish and stays grounded and he lures the audience in with his charming good looks and dripping charismatic energy. Glen Powell is operating at a level that will rank as some of the finest work of his career and then you have a solid turn from Adria Arjona who brings this sexy and adorable character to the surface but has a level of uncertainty about her as she is very fun but can be very causal about using violence if it is needed in order to keep her safe and that makes her a tad scary to a extent and Adria is able to walk the line between innocent sexy and unpredictable in such a captivating performance. Then you have Austin Amelio  who plays this sleazy cop that will do just about anything to get his job back and he comes across as bold and very blunt and you can see why certain people dislike him but as the film goes on you see that he really has no one in mind but himself when it comes to looking out for others. He is so self absorbed and will do shady things in order to remain respected and Austin brings this sly and unlikeable smirk like quality to him that has you know within seconds what kind of person he is and he embraces the character head on in a performance that is great as this truly unlikeable person and Austin soars in a performance that is a terrific supporting turn. Everyone gives a great performance but it is Glen Powell that walks away with the film in terms of performance. 

Lastly, Hit Man is one of the best films of the year and for so many reasons. The film delivers with a truly amazing well written screenplay that delves into the ideology of Shifting personalities and finding new parts of yourself to present to others that aren’t real versions of you and using it as a undercover cop and the whole concept of that is so fresh and original and shown in a way I had never seen before. Richard Linklater knocks it out of the park giving one of his best films ever with Hit Man that is full of comedy, drama romance and great writing and direction as well as a truly outstanding showcase for Glen Powell working on all cylinders to show why he is a young talent to keep an eye on as he steals the show with his phenomenal leading performance Hit Man is fun, hilarious and so well written this is one of the best films of the year and one that I can see people wanting to rewatch the moment it is over I recommended everyone go see this film. 

This film centres around a teacher who works part time for the police department and one day when he is tasked with taking on a undercover person they realize how he is natural talent and keep him on to do the Job and it comes very easy to him until he runs into a girl that may just mess up his way of doing things professionally. 

Rated R : Sexual Content|Language Throughout|Some Violence

Glen Powell : Powell delivers one of his finest perorfmacnes of his career as Gary in Hit Man! Now as I mentioned This man has been having quite the outstanding year for himself and now I loved his work on Twister but that character and his character here are very different and I love both characters he plays for different reasons but I will say his performance here stands out for me a lot more. He plays so many roles in one singular Performance which gives him so much to work with creatively and also from a acting stand point he has so much material to chew into as he plays Gary but then has to put on so many hats and different voices to lure his clients into incriminating themselves and he does that by changing his voice and whole look depending on which client he has next. It never comes across as a heavy wig show that can seem jokey easily but he never does that as he makes them seem so fun and full of such life that each personality seemed like a fully realized person even if it was for a few minutes but you can also tell that Glen Powell is having so much fun at getting to tap into all these different people. Now there is one personality that gets more air time than the rest which is the character he creates of Ron. Now that persona isn’t this big toxic masculine type but to a degree he is very masculine and smooth in a old school Bogart James Bond like way of how he talks to this girl he is tasked to see. He knows exactly the right thing to say at the right time that he knows will grab her attention and draw her into a conversation with him and if it is from a line he uses on her or a smile that has her melt in front of him he knows the best way emotionally to get to her. As Gary he is this shy and kept to himself person but as Ron he can be all the things he dreamed of being that he never is which is a heightened masculine version guy that acts and dose not hesitate so all the things Gary is not is what Ron is and he enjoys taping into that person as he knows that isn’t him but he gets a joy out of it because he sees how freeing it is for him emotionally that he does become carried away wearing that mask around her. Their gets a point though where he starts doing things that can compromise his job and he risks his job because he can see he is getting more and more emotionality invested into this girl which scares him as he knows if that happens he can’t treat her in a professional manner as he then has gotten to personal with her. Glen Powell is able to show the insecurity of Gary but then show the smooth nature of Ron and all the other characters he has painted as well and once Ron starts getting more time in his brain then Gary his made up version of Ron starts even affecting his original self where who he is at his school job seems more cleaned up and witty because since he has masked as Ron for so long who he is as Gary and his other perosna Ron he starts taking traits from Ron and applying it to his old self. Glen  Powell is able to work with so much as he goes through a transformation as he has been such a quiet and insecure guy and when he finally gets to mask all these characters it strengthened his ability to socialize with the people around him and in his work as after he takes the mask of Ron off he is more confident because he has to heighten parts of himself for his work and it sharpened his social skills big time and Glen Powell can switch from that nerdy Gary side to the cool sexy aspect of Ron within seconds and it is genius in terms of performance as he isn’t just changing his voice but his way of walking and dressing all of it he really embraces all of the characters he plays within one role. Glen Powell has great moments of dry humour that land so well but then can have sincere emotional depth that explores his heart in a way that you can’t tell if it is Ron talking or if that is Gary speaking  from his heart and I love that he brings that to the screen and the sheer amount of charisma and charm is incredible he truly delivers a stunning performance that is among some of the best work of his career. Glen Powell brings an amazing leading man status that people will sit up and take notice as in one singular performance he is able to be masculine, awkward, loud, emotionally pulled back, funny and charming all wrapped in one performance and he taps into all those sides and explores them to such a great degree Glenn Powell delivers an amazing performance that is one of his finest of his career! 

Richard Linklater : Linklater gives one of his best directed films ever with his work on Hit Man! Now I have been impressed by this directors style time and time again with his amazing attention to character work and his great eye for style in all of his films. Now seeing him tackle a film about personality analysis was outstanding as yes it is a comedy drama but there is so much he is doing in terms of themes that really stood out to me. As mentioned earlier he breaks down the whole concept of building a new version of yourself and turning down the original part of you in order for the new version to take centre stage for a while that as a concept is so interesting and he lets audiences sit with that theme and think about it and then while your having a deep thought on that he also gives great comedy. The comedy never felt cheap but he uses dry humour that always lands and feels appropriate to the character and the moment happening in the scene he never just throws in a joke for a cheap laugh their is a reason for it and it constantly lands perfectly due to his great ability at timing it just right. Then for the drama he creates great tension out of the sheer stress of Gary compromising his job for this girl and if one thing goes wrong it can all crumble and their is great tension built off of that and you see the stress in Glen Powell’s eyes and sheer anxiety building up within him even if it isn’t spoken. I love that he knew when to draw back fro the comedy and let the drama take over the scene and have the characters switch up their emotions so we can see other sides to them and then for the romantic aspect that part slowly veers into it without it feeling forced. Now from the first meeting we see their is sexual chemistry between the two and their flirting from the get go but that descent into romance was slow and gradual and it works as it never felt like a cliche and worked for the progression of the two characters and they were already going in that direction from that first encounter so it only felt natural. Linklater was able to go in so many places creatively without it feeling overwhelming for the audience while going in so many directions and it works as the backbone of the film is the strong narrative he crafted that gives great characters a fantastic style that feels very singular to Richard and he delves into comedy, romance and the psychological breakdown personality shift in such a great way that you can’t look  away. This is among some of the strongest writing and direction that Richard Linklater has ever done and once again giving a fun and truly well thought out film to audiences they have not seen before his direction on this film is truly genius!