I have been slow to board the Glen Powell train. I didn’t think much of his Top Gunnery; I was wholly unimpressed by everybody’s new favorite romance, Anyone but You. And while I fully acknowledge the cartoonery he added to make Twisters a mild success, his is a role that could have been handled acceptably by hundreds of other actors. Until now, I had seen nothing in Glen Powell that would make me recommend Glen Powell.
And then I saw Hit Man.
Oh. I see. We do have some range. We can command a screen. I’m more than a little surprised and both shamed and pleased. I dunno if we have another Brad Pitt in the making quite yet, but Glen Powell has talent that up to this moment eluded my vision.
Gary Johnson (if that is, indeed, your real name) is a professor of philosophy at the University of New Orleans. And when not Nietzsche-ing it up with the student body, he moonlights doing undercover work in sting operations for the police, the NO-POPO. No joke here, I just like saying, “NOPOPO.” Johnson (Powell) is strictly a behind-the-scenes guy, the kind of person who specializes in technical work like hiding mics.
There is some question here as to whether any real life Hit Man really exists. Are hitmen a movie invention? That can’t be true, but suppose you actually wanted to use the services of a Hit Man, how would you go about it? You see the dilemma instantly, no? And Hit Man is a trust relationship between, generally, people who don’t know each other. Americans who do not know one another and Americans who trust are circles on the Venn diagram that have no intersection.
And here’s where the plot comes in: gruff, ornery, and shady cop Jasper (Austin Amelio) usually handles the sting operations, posing as a professional Hit Man. When Jasper is suspended, howev
er, Gary, plain old Gary, a milquetoast of a man, is thrust into the starring role … and damn if he doesn’t ace it.
Get this: Gary *likes* this work; he quickly adopts several different personalities and costumes to cater to potential clientele, each one bringing the perp closer, soliciting a crime, and then busting them. And the cosplay is … fun. There’s no other word for it. Both Powell and writer/director Richard Linklater (Powell co-wrote) seem to be having a whale of a time adopting mock-lethal disguises.
Of course, eventually a plot has to happen, which comes in the form of Madison (Adria Arjona), a housewife wanting to off her abusive husband. Clearly both empathic and attracted, Gary can’t bring himself to go through with the sting … which probably could be excused -you can’t sting ‘em all – but for the part where Madison and Gary start a relationship.
Hit Man was a surprise for me on a few counts. Can’t say this film is a world-beater, but it did make me reconsider every thought I had up to now about Glen Powell. Richard Linklater continues to be quite the rollercoaster for me. Some of his films I adore, others I couldn’t leave fast enough. I don’t think the director has a strong enough record with actors to pretend Powell’s tour-de-force here can be laid entirety at Linklater’s feet, but these two clearly worked well together on this project. And now that Glen Powell has been acknowledged as a force, will future Powell travel the Cheese Road -which includes pictures like Twisters and Anyone but You– or will he trek the more demanding talent peak, which includes greater potential rewards, greater potential failures, and less money? We shall see.
There was once a nobody named Gary
Who lived on the outskirts of scary
Required as filler
To double for a killer
Cherry Gary, first wary, made merry
Rated R, 115 Minutes
Director: Richard Linklater
Writer: Richard Linklater, Glen Powell, Skip Hillandsworth
Genre: Cosplay
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: Fletch F. Fletch
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: Pollyannas
