Occasionally, a compelling film with thought-provoking masterful celluloid strokes splashes across the silver screen, and subsequently, resonates with an audience (in spite of the fact it’s not a typical Hollywood-style big-budget smash-up or special effects CGI masterpiece crafted to dazzle and delight).
The American - a Focus Pictures production - uniquely fits the mold.
The thriller (starring a charismatic salt & pepper George Clooney) unravels slow and sure in the breath-taking opening scenes - then, quickly - kick-starts into high gear (in part) due to a series of spine-tingling plot twists that erupt unexpectedly out-of-the-blue.
Suddenly, the theatre-goer (on the edge of his or her seat by now), is propelled forward into the action for a wild ride that is not always gauged by tail-spin turns, screeching tires, or a bloody body count.
In fact, the American is a remarkable film in many respects, because of what it is not.
The scriptwriter (who adapted a best-selling book here) wisely chose not to rely on gimmicks (what has gone before) to appeal to the commercial mainstream - and in the process - avoided tired old clichés and stale plot scenarios to avoid breathing artifical life into what amounts to a gem of a movie.
Personally, I stared up fom the below the footlights and savored every deft Hitchcockian moment that happened along, totally absorbed.
In fact, each frame was not unlike a unique piece of a film puzzle - that eventually snapped into focus just before the ending - when it dawned on the viewer that "The American" was a subtle morality tale along the old-fashioned traditions of spell-binding meticulous story-telling of yesteryear.
In a nutshell, Clooney’s character is an International spy - of sorts - forced to come out of hiding when a nasty posse of cut-throat killers are hired to terminate him.
In a sub-plot, the screenwriter fleshes out the tortured soul of a complex man - who is at times driven - by exotic sensual tastes as he yearns for intimacy late in life.
In spite of his normally-cool reserve and remarkable self-control in the dangerous high-stakes arena of espionage - in contrast - endless nights alone without companionship (he's an outsider who has been unable to savor the spoils of his success) have taken their toll.
Unlike studio honchos that often rely on formula - with a big dose of style over substance tossed in for good measure to seduce the hapless film buff - the producers here rely on the intelligence of the sophisticated film enthusiast to fill in the gaps.
The strategy appears to be working - if the turn-out this afternoon in downtown San Francisco - is any indication.
Although the Clooney film was released today - mid-week on a Wednesday afternoon without a lot of frenzied fanfare - excited fans abandoned chores at home and loose-ends on work deadlines at the office to steal into the theatre to catch the flick before the dinner hour.
That's star-power, alright!
The icing on the cake?
Half-naked footage of Clooney reveals the hunk is still at the top of the heap in the stud department, too!
I wouldn't kick him out-of-bed for eating crackers, that's for sure!
Clooney character crafts high-powered rifle for Assassin!
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