The American!

A mainly all foreign cast The American is based on a book A Very Private Gentleman by Martin Booth.  George Clooney stars as an assassin that is near the end of his career, and at this point may just be looking for companionship. At this point in his career, Clooney is able to pick his movies carefully and rarely does something that isn’t good. While The American may not be the best of his latest movies, Clooney is excellent in his performance.




After surviving an ambush while in Sweden his contact sets him up in a small country town in Italy. Offered a job, not to kill, but to construct a gun for a fellow assassin, Jack tries to keep a low profile. Befriending a local priest, Father Benedetto (Paolo Bonacelli), helps with character development allowing the audience to get a sense of who he is. A lonely man in a lonely profession finds himself becoming close with a prostitute, a beautiful woman Clare (Violante Placido). Still being followed in Italy, Jack remains paranoid and vows this will be his last job. As the movie progresses he allows himself to become closer to both the priest and the prostitute while still keeping up his guard. Little dialog works well for what the film is trying to do, but it emphasizes that the film has something missing in its plot.



Overall I would give it a 2.5 out of 5, and I would not recommend it to many. Although I enjoyed it, slow moving plot development, and a shallow story makes the movie fall short to the average moviegoer. It’s long sweeping camera shots showcases the beautiful Italian countryside. The movie is well shot and well acted, but ultimately falls short. It is another example of a trailer misrepresenting the product.