In the first half of The American, director Anton Corbijn's follow-up to his Joy Division movie Control, an Italian priest (Paolo Bonacelli) tells Jack (George Clooney), "...you have the hands of a craftsman." Like the film's main character, The American has some small issues that hold it back from its full potential, but when it depicts the scenes of Jack being a craftsman, it succeeds.
The film opens with Jack, an assassin, botching a job in Sweden, and like a darker, humorless brother of In Bruges, the film's main plot involves Jack in hiding, waiting for his next assignment. That assignment comes in the form of Mathilde (Thekla Reuten), who commissions Jack to build her a very special rifle for a task she won't reveal. As far as plot goes, that's about all that goes on, aside from Jack's suspicions that someone is following him, and a relationship with a local prostitute (Violante Placido). Though I suspect it would still prove to be divisive even without the terribly misleading marketing campaign (a shoot-em-up-thrill-ride it is not), for this viewer, Corbijn and Clooney worked magic. This is a steadily paced film, with little happening, and peppered with intriguing-yet-vague conversations that leave the focus on the characters and what little we know about them. In fact, The American may boast some of the quietest suspense I've seen in years, with any number of scenes (usually at night) that look as though they will finally lead to a chase/shoot-out and don't. And yet, for me, that's not a problem. Some may say that the shots lingered just a hair too long, or that there wasn't anything going on except at the end. Regardless of whether you liked the film or not, the last half of that statement seems to miss the point. This is not about where Jack is going, it's about how he deals with what has happened in the past, while stranded in a village that at times feels like purgatory on earth.
And there are three keys that hold it all together: Corbijn, Clooney, and cinematographer Martin Ruhe. Corbijn, a photographer himself, displayed a strong visual eye with the stark black and white of Control, but in collaborating with Ruhe, he's taken it up a notch; color suits him well. Once Jack arrives in the village, the location never really changes, yet the constant use of wide, establishing shots of the village's buildings (often surrounded by clouds) never grow tiresome or feel unnecessary. The pair also play with light beautifully, filling the frame (if only briefly) with reds, blues, browns, and in one of the best shots in the film - Jack sitting on his bed after awaking from a nightmare - gold. Even the more plainly lit scenes, like those of Jack working away at his project, remain dynamic simply because of the (often simple) movement taking place in the frame. And like Animal Kingdom, Corbijn and crew know how to use sounds carefully, so that the few "bang!"'s in the film (some of which aren't gun shots) resonate. Herbert Gronemeyer's music, though used infrequently for the first half or so, adds additional atmosphere to Ruhe's subdued-yet-beautiful images.
And this brings us to the last piece of the puzzle, Mr. Clooney himself. It's easy enough to write Clooney off as more of a star than an actor, playing relatively similar roles that capitalize more on his charm and persona that real acting heft. And this is why Clooney might be the film's greatest strength; despite not having too much time to talk, Clooney is never given a chance to project his usual charm. This is not a spin-off role of Danny Ocean, this is a fully realized, darker, complex character who succeeds thanks to Clooney digging into the role and (in a minimalist way) acting the hell out of it. The rest of the cast do fine work as well, using their minimal dialogue to create characters with some illusion of (un-seen) depth when they could have easily been empty or one-note.
Yet while some elements of the screenplay - the conversations - are high points, others put a bit of a damper on the overall package. I won't say why, but after certain events you might wonder why the police are never called to the town. In another instance, a compelling turn ends up feeling horribly inefficient from a narrative stand-point. Yet despite some plot-holes, The American is a success thanks to its performances and overall craftsmanship, which might just be enough to keep those plot-holes from being too much of a distraction. That is, if you're in the section of the audience who are engaged and not bored to tears.
Grade: B/B+
