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Movie Review by:
Jim "Good Old JR" Rutkowski
Directed & Written by: Richard Shepard
Starring: Pierce Brosnan, Greg Kinnear, Hope Davis
Running time: 97 minutes,
Released: 12/30/06.
Rated R for strong sexual content and
language. |
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 Opening
in a few markets on the North Side The Matador is the first
film done by Pierce Brosnan since he was replaced as James
Bond by Layer Cake’s Daniel Craig but that’s only in a
technical sense. The film was done, cut and has been making
the festival circuit since early 2005 but with the break up
between Disney and the Weinstein Brothers the film went into
a completed film version of what is called ‘Development
Hell’. This is one of the first films released under their
new company and it is one you need to go out of your way to
see.
The film begins with the preparation of a business trip by
Danny Wright (Kinnear of ‘Auto Focus’ fame). He is married
to the unusually named Bean (‘American Splendor’s’ Hope
Davis) and they have a pretty active sex life. He is
traveling to Mexico City to arrange a business deal that
would get him back on the job rolls if only he could
convince the right people to hire him. The opening
establishes that the two love each other very much. Kinnear
is in full nebbish mode here with old styled glasses and a
look of perpetual pain on his face. The look is entirely
necessary for the development of his character.
Brosnan plays Julian Noble, a tweaked version of his suave
cool Bond character but we discover later that Julian is
anything but cool. He’s wearing crappy shirts and the
mustache on his face in a bit slight but we naturally blend
him with the Bond character so we give him the benefit of
suave. Julian is as he says ‘facilitates fatalities’ and he
is Mexico City to do just that.
Julian and Danny meet up casually in a bar at the hotel and
begin talking just because there isn’t anyone else there so
what the heck. The men make small talk and an attempt at
making a short term friend is there but Shepard adds a twist
to the scene that will set up the relationship that follows.
As the night continues Danny tells Julian that he and Bean
have lost a son. The story is slowly told and you can sense
the sadness in Danny but Julian’s response is to tell an off
color joke. It is rude and highly insensitive but it shows
us that Brosnan’s character is completely lost in regular
life. The almost friendship never happens and we are left
with Brosnan sitting alone in the bar.
We get a further idea that Brosnan is losing it the
following morning where he wanders down to the pool by way
of the lobby wearing tight Speedos and boots as if he hasn’t
a care in the world. He encounters Danny and is made to
apologize for his behavior. As a way to make things up
Julian invites Danny to a bull fight. As the two sit
watching the action after a slight bit of prodding Kinnear
learns what Brosnan does for a living. Shepard cuts between
the matador and the bull as Kinnear wonders if he is being
played with again. As proof that he is serious Kinnear gets
an instant tutorial of how an assassin needs to think and
work in a magnificent scene that makes you wonder just how
far the lesson will go. It’s a scenario straight out of
‘Strangers on a Train’ with the ultra smooth Brosnan
literally seducing Kinnear into almost killing someone just
as an exercise. For those of you who have never seen
‘Strangers’ or read the Patricia Highsmith (the creator of
amoral killer Tom Ripley) the story was used to comic effect
in ‘Throw Momma from the Train’. There as in here a
character (Julian) is willing to do another character
(Danny) a favor of death but only if the favor is returned.
We see that Danny is pretty fascinated about what Julian
does and when it is suggested that the two help each other
in a café the relationship never reaches the third date
stage. We are left at a null point that evening with a crash
leaving us wondering what has happened.
Shepard jumps us forward to Denver where it’s Christmas time
(yes I used the word and didn’t Bill O’Reilly look like an
idiot on the Letterman show this week?) at the Wright
household. Danny and Bean (Davis) share a moment where Bean
tells him about their courtship and that Danny told her how
beautiful she was. It’s a great moment because Davis will
never be described as classically attractive but considered
interesting looking. As the two share a moment suddenly the
bell rings and up pops Julian, eager to reconnect with his
‘friend’. The scene is awkward because we feel the same way
that Danny does. He doesn’t want to see Julian and thought
he was never going to see him again but the guy is there in
his living room dancing with his wife. And to top it all off
Bean is fascinated with Julian and even asks him ‘Did you
bring your gun?’ Julian moves in for the night and meets the
couple’s young son who witnesses him on a job. Things are
somewhat awkward and then it comes out-Julian is having
troubles at work. He is having panic attacks and has botched
a very crucial job given to him by his handler, Mr. Randy
(Hall). We have seen him as a bit off but this time he seems
to be going completely off the deep end and if he screws up
his next assignment he becomes the target instead of the
hunter. The question is: will Danny help his ‘friend’ become
the man he was or leave him out in the snow? And what did
happen the night in Mexico City after Danny left Julian at
the café?
The concluding scene in the film is set at a horse race that
parallels the bull fight sequence seen earlier. Shepard
mixes thrills with comedy and we are left at a good place as
the credits roll.
Shepard constructs the film as a series of set pieces broken
up with long segments of dialogue. His decision to do so
gives the film a random feel that never leaves you at a
certain comfort level. It’s a thriller, a comedy and a
series of character studies all at the same time that
focuses its attention on the main characters. Davis is great
here as the supportive, regular girl who is as sexy as she
needs to be. Shepard uses Spider-Man’s Dylan Baker well in
one scene and Paul Thomas Anderson regular Phillip Baker
Hall shines in his two scenes as Brosnan’s handler. Kinnear
began as an actor after appearing as the wise ass host of
E’s ‘Talk Soup’ and has developed into a solid performer.
Just to look at him here you would see a nebbish guy at
first glance but there is a solid core inside of him that
allows him to save someone who is truly lost. It would be
easy for Danny to blow Julian off but he as we can see that
there is a person inside Julian that needs to be saved and
Danny and Bean are the only ones who can.
The true star here is Brosnan who takes what he could have
played as a stock character and shows no fear in looking
silly when the part demands it. He plays with his film image
and gives us a character that is one of the most complicated
people that I have seen in a film in a while. Julian is
confident, insensitive, efficient, screwed up, and
absolutely lost. He has no home, no connections to the world
save his short meetings with Hall and seems to exist only in
the moment he is needed. I would doubt that most leading men
would put on a cheerleader outfit but he does and seems to
have fun doing so. If this film moves towards this side of
town anytime take a chance and go but if not take a trip
downtown and have some Cajun food from Heaven on Seven after
the movie. |
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MATADOR ©
2006 The Weinstein Company.
All Rights Reserved
Review © 2006 Alternate Reality, Inc. |
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