“The American” is a European thriller that feels right at home with the arthouse films of the early 1970s. Directed by Dutch filmmaker Anton Corbijn and starring George Clooney, “The American” is a slow, deliberately paced and atmospheric movie that is primarily focused on creating moods, not plot.
Corbijn seems much more concerned with examining the mechanics of being an assassin than any grandoise emotional conflict. A friend of mine with whom I saw the movie described the story as something out of an airport novella and that is probably the best way to describe it. It is nothing particularly unique and it’s riddled with cliches.
However, what saves the movie from the story’s cliche plot devices is that they aren’t executed in a particularly cliche way. Rather, the film slowly unfolds and captivates a willing audience member with its subdued performances and stunning cinematography.
This is a difficult film to recommend for, as I’ve said, it isn’t the plot that I found enjoyable. The trailer sells the film as a Hollywood style, star fueled thriller featuring chisel-jawed Clooney. However, “The American’s” poster informed me better. Its three-color palate, minimalist style immediately informed me I was taking a trip to an arthouse theater of the 1970s and not to a Hollywood blockbuster multiplex of the present day. And personally, I couldn’t help but revel in every meticulous mood as I sat in awe of the gorgeous Italian countryside.
I am not a fan of romantic comedies. Of all the film genre’s, I find the predictability and cliché plot devices that dominate modern rom coms to be extremely irritating. Originality and creativity are stifled in the story mandate of bringing a two people together, often through frivolous zany antics and dialogue that instantly makes my eyes roll. Well, leave it to the Coen Brother to make a romantic comedy that I actually like.
“Intolerable Cruelty” might go as one of the pair’s less celebrated works, but that doesn’t make any less enjoyable. George Clooney stars as a top divorce attorney who finds himself smitten with a con woman, played by Catherine Zeta Jones. Both characters are as in love with themselves as they may be with each other and their dynamic makes them worthy adversaries, as wel as potential lovers.
Clooney and Jones work terrifically off one another, matching each other’s wit and creating palpable romantic chemistry. Clooney is his usual charming self, channeling Carey Grant as I feel he is prone to do. Jones is quieter, more particular in the way she reveals her character’s personality. She exudes an attractive sense of mystery, keeping the viewer guessing as to her true intentions.
In true Coen brother’s fashion, it is the the nuanced quirks found in its characters and in the storyline that elevates “Intolerable Cruelty” from the genre’s traps. The film points funs at the contrivances and absurdities that romantic comedies are often prone to indulge in. The Coen’s are aware of the genre beats they are ‘suppose’ to hit and cleverly subvert them.
“Intolerable Cruelty” is a lot of fun to watch, but I would recommend a lot of other Coen brother’s before this one. The film just never reaches the heights of the duo’s best work, but it’s definitely a cut above any other modern romantic comedy.
As with 2005’s “Good Night, and Good Luck,” George Clooney crafts an intriguing and character based political thriller that largely works thanks to the charismatic performances by its cast. Starring Ryan Gosling, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Paul Giamatti and Clooney himself, it’s hard to deny the acting caliber on display here.
Director Alexander Payne specializes in male melodrama. Here, Payne makes use of Clooney’s career-defining charisma to tell a story stuffed with morally complex situations. At times, it’s overwrought, while in other moments, played too light. Still, as Noel Murray over at the A.V. Club put it, “For all its faults, it would be a mistake to dismiss a movie that features people we rarely see on a big screen, in places we seldom visit, trying to make sense of the relationships they’ve squandered and the futures they can still control.”
