I watched “The American” yesterday. Ā It’s a rather slow developing drama of an aging assassin, who starts to get lonely, questions his life choices, and wants to quit his trade. Ā And as in so many other stories, that’s not so easy to do. Ā And as with so many other stories, women are usually involved.
It’s a nice story. Ā Not a bad movie. Ā Some solid acting. Ā And lots and lots of silence, which makes sense. Ā It is somewhat slow, but I enjoyed it quite a bit. Ā Yet, it is that kind of movie which is difficult to recommend. Ā Because people usually expect so many different things from an assassin drama. Ā And I’m not sure this will satisfy many. Ā It did satisfy me though.
Two things in particular that I liked were the use of Italian language and scenery. Ā Multi-lingual films are a challenge. Ā If there are two many languages or too much of two languages, subtitles are needed, and they usually annoy the audience. Ā Shooting a movie in English, when clearly other languages are involved often seems naive and childish. Ā So the choices are hard and making a movie with two or more languages involved is not that easy. Ā This film succeeded though. Ā It managed to bring the feeling of Italy, the atmosphere, and the language without using too much of it. Ā Subtitles are helpful, but not required – most of what is said in Italian are short phrases, the smalltalk. Ā Yet, combined with the scenery of small Italian towns that brings a very realistic feeling. Ā The place is unmistakable.
Overall, a 4 out of 5.