Have you ever thrown a knife at a friend or loved one? Of course you have. Who hasn’t? It’s just like playing catch, only potentially lethal. This is how romance is solidified between “retired” hitman Francis (Sam Rockwell) and not-a-hitperson Martha (Anna Kendrick). See, Francis -and that’s cheating right there … we don’t learn his name until the film is an hour in- knows that Martha has super hitperson talent; she just hasn’t explored it. So Francis starts throwing knives at her. Sure. Makes sense.
We meet Martha when her boyfriend brings home another woman. Geez, who cheats on Anna Kendrick? She moves out. We meet Francis as his alter ego, “Clown Nose.” He shoots a woman trying to hire him for a hit and then he runs through a team of armed assassins without breaking a sweat or removing his clown nose. It’s worth noting that Mr. Right came out before the movie version of It. Coincidence? Probably not.
If that paragraph didn’t get the message across, Clown Nose is a professional par excellence. And given his demeanor, he has to be. You can’t be the guy who thwarts other assassins without having superhuman skills, which he does. It seems to come down to great reflexes and a spidey sense, I think. Does Martha mess with his instincts? Not really. Does Martha change his reality? Not really. Does Martha change his priorities? Yes.
In my mind, 1) Sam Rockwell is too old for Anna Kendrick. (At the time it was 46 v. 29, which is an impressive gap) 2) Clown Nose is a serial killer and 3) He comes on a bit too strong in their convenience store meet cute. But I let all that slide because both Rockwell and Kendrick are enjoyable in this film and they are adorable together … that is once Martha gets over the whole “killing people” thing – it can be a romantic sticking point for some folks. Go figure.
I scoffed at Mr. Right. It seemed impossible that a film with people I love could fly under my radar and be quality, but it turned out to be a hidden gem. The film was made back in the very brief era in which we tried to make RZA a movie star. It didn’t take. Nothing Rockwell or Kendrick has done since has done anything but solidify stardom. Rockwell especially – playing a merciless killing machine is actually a more sympathetic role than several others he’s had in the past few years. As for the film, if you can get over the idea of a humble hitman … not quite “walk the earth” like Julius in Pulp Fiction, but just somebody who has no more need to exploit his talent for killing people, Mr. Right is fairly enjoyable and film I wish I’d seen when it came out five years ago.
A clown on a fraught murder spree
Discovers a woman and glee
Romance emblissed
Hey, what a twist!
This ending to It, Chapter III
Rated R, 95 Minutes
Director: Paco Cabezas (“Frank Heads”)
Writer: Max Landis
Genre: Hot-blooded and cold-blooded romance
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: Closet romantics who are also kinda closet sociopaths
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: The morally inflexible
