The Gunman

Based on the novel The Prone Gunman by Jean-Patrick Manchette, The Gunman is the story of a former assassin who is trying to move on from his dark past as he learns that his sins have come back to haunt him. Directed by Pierre Morel and screenplay by Don MacPherson, Pete Travis, and Sean Penn, the film is an exploration into a killer who once killed for his government and many others as he becomes the target himself when he refuses to kill. Starring Sean Penn, Javier Bardem, Jasmine Trinca, Ray Winstone, Mark Rylance, and Idris Elba. The Gunman is an engaging though very typical film from Pierre Morel.

Eight years after an assassination in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a former assassin finds his past has come back to haunt him following an attack at the country as he goes to Europe to find out why. That is essentially the plot of the film as it plays into a man who copes with not just his own sins but also failing health and other issues as he becomes paranoid following a hit on him. While it is a story that is very simple, the script does explore the world of multi-national corporations that get involved with these things as it never really gels into the story as its protagonist Jim Terrier (Sean Penn) travels to London and Spain to find out why he is being targeted as it related to the assassination of a mining minister that he took part in eight years before.

While the script does maintain some intrigue in its storyline, it does have some major flaws as it plays into the way many of the film’s supporting characters are written. Notably as characters like Felix (Javier Bardem) aren’t fleshed out as he is a character that was a friend of Terrier but is also a suspect for the fact that he might’ve been the one to carry out the hit on Terrier. Felix’s wife Annie (Jasmine Trinca) is another character that also suffers from the script’s shortcomings as she is nothing more than an object of affection for Terrier as they had a past together. It’s among some of the things in the film that don’t work though the script does succeed in creating the moments of action as well as some dialogue as it relates to the suspense and some funny banter between Terrier and his friend Stanley (Ray Winstone).

Pierre Morel’s direction is very typical of what is expected in action films where a trained killer becomes the hunted though Morel does manage to keep things simple in the non-action scenes. Notably in the close-ups and medium shots while some of the establishing shots do get repetitive at times with its wide angles even though it is to represent a world that is coming undone by scandal. While Morel’s approach to action is quite straightforward, there are moments where he does go into fast-cutting styles to play into its intensity where it is a mixed back. The editing also suffers in a sex scene between Terrier and Annie as it is clumsily handled. Even though the film’s ending is quite conventional, its climax is still quite chilling as it relates to Terrier battling it out with the people who tried to kill him as it is set in a very public setting in Spain. Overall, Morel creates an adequate but very unoriginal film about a former assassin who is being targeted for his own sins.

Cinematographer Flavio Martinez Labiano does excellent work with the cinematography to capture the nighttime scenes set in Barcelona, London, and in Africa to play into its dark moods along with some low-key scenes set in the daytime. Editor Frederic Thoraval does some fine work with the editing in some of the film‘s non-action scenes though the sex scene between Terrier and Annie is terrible while some of the action relies on fast-cutting that doesn‘t really work at all. Production designer Andrew Laws, with set decorator Anneke Botha and supervising art director Stuart Kearns, does fantastic work with the set pieces from the look of Felix‘s country home to the quaint apartment Terrier would stay in Barcelona.

Costume designer Jill Taylor does nice work with the costumes as it is mostly casual for all of the characters involved in the film. Visual effects supervisor Stuart Lashley does OK work with some of the film‘s minimal visual effects though they weren‘t distracting as it helps play into the film‘s gritty tone. Sound designer Paul Carter does terrific work with the sound to play into the sounds of gunfire and other key elements in the film‘s action scenes. The film’s music by Marco Beltrami is pretty good for its bombastic orchestral score with elements of guitars to play into the intensity of the action.

The casting by Reg Poerscout-Edgerton is amazing as it features some notable small roles from Ade Oyefeso as Terrier’s assistant in Africa who save him, Peter Frenzen as an assassin hired to kill Terrier, and Idris Elba in a small yet fun role as a mysterious operative who is so good but has very little screen time. Mark Rylance is terrific as an old friend of Terrier in Cox who had reinvented himself as a corporate businessman that would make Terrier uneasy. Ray Winstone is fantastic as Terrier’s friend Stanley as he is the most fun supporting character in the film that is also the one character that has any depth as he is concerned for his friend’s well-being as well as telling him to just hide.

Jasmine Trinca is alright as Annie as a doctor who didn’t know what Terrier or Felix did in the film’s first act until she copes with the truth as Trinca’s role is very underwritten as some damsel-in-distress character. Javier Bardem is good in his role as Felix though he is also underused and underdeveloped as he spends much of the film’s second act drunk and cagey while being more straight in the film’s first act. Finally, there’s Sean Penn in a superb performance as Jim Terrier as Penn brings a bit of charm to his role while having his moments as a badass though it’s not perfect due to the shortcomings of the script and Penn not being entirely convincing of playing an assassin though he does manage to bring a bit of gravitas to his role.

The Gunman is a decent but messy film from Pierre Morel. Despite its intriguing premise as well as some adequate performances from Sean Penn and Javier Bardem as well as a fun one from Ray Winstone. It’s a film that could’ve done more for the hunter being the hunted premise but ends up being very typical of these kinds of films. In the end, The Gunman is a very mediocre film from Pierre Morel.

© thevoid99 2015

2014 Cannes Marathon: The Son's Room

(Winner of the Palme d’Or at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival)

Directed and starring Nanni Moretti with a screenplay by Moretti, Heidrun Schleef, and Linda Ferri from a story by Moretti, La stanza del figlio (The Son’s Room) is the story about a family dealing with the loss of their son as they also try to move on after his death. The film is an exploration into the death of a child as well as two people trying to live their life after their son’s death. Also starring Laura Morante, Jasmine Trinca, Giuseppe Sanfelice, Silvio Orlando, Sofia Vigliar, Claudio Santamaria, and Stefano Accorsi. La stanza del figlio is a devastating yet captivating film from Nanni Moretti.

The death of a child is an event that parents fear the most as the film is about an unexpected death of a couple’s son in a scuba diving accident that left them at a sense of loss as the parents and their teenage daughter try to cope with grief. It’s a film that doesn’t really have much of a plot since it concerns a family dealing with loss as the father Giovanni (Nanni Moretti) tries to figure out what he would’ve done differently on the day his son Andrea (Giuseppe Sanfelice) died. Giovanni felt responsible for what happened as he tries to analyze everything that he could’ve done as it would affect his work as a psychoanalyst while his wife Paola (Laura Morante) and their teenage daughter Irene (Jasmine Trinca) both try to cope with their grief.

The film’s first act spends much of the time of the family as one that is typical as Giovanni tries to figure out Andrea as he is a teenager coping with growing up while being evasive about his activities with his friends. Then on a day when Giovanni and Andrea were supposed to go for a jog only for the former to come in to help a patient at the last minute, it’s a day Giovanni wouldn’t forget as the unthinkable happens. For the second and third act, it becomes this very understated drama where there is bits of melodrama but it has Giovanni, Paola, and Irene all trying to cope with the loss. Giovanni would delve into his work but it would become hard to do as he and Paola try to continue living their lives with great difficulty. Notably as they watch Irene play a basketball game for her school where she would finally snap as it becomes clear that she isn’t coping with her brother’s death very well as is Paola who becomes very emotional leaving Giovanni to try to piece everything as well as finding closure for himself and his family.

Nanni Moretti’s direction is very simple and understated as he doesn’t go for anything that is overly-sentimental nor aim for any kind of style. Instead, he creates something that feels very realistic and to the point not just in the compositions he creates but also has this intimacy that is very engaging. Notably as he starts the film off in a very lighthearted tone where it is about a family being normal but once Andrea’s death happens, the tone would change to something very somber. Notably as it comes in an unexpected moments that includes Giovanni thinking about what he would’ve done differently on the day of Andrea’s death. The third act would be about this moment of closure where it would involve someone Andrea had corresponded with as Paola wants to meet this person though Giovanni has some reservations yet it would prove to be a very effective moment in the film’s climax. Overall, Moretti creates a very touching and rapturous film about a family coping with the loss of a loved one.

Cinematographer Giuseppe Lanci does excellent work with the film‘s cinematography as it is simple and understated for many of its daytime scenes while going for simple lights for the scenes at night. Editor Esmerelda Calabria does amazing work with the editing as it is very effective for many of the film‘s emotional moments while not aiming for any kind of style by presenting the drama in a straightforward manner. Production designer Giancarlo Basili does nice work with the look of the apartment home Giovanni and his family live in as well as the office that he works at as well as Andrea‘s room which serves as a place that the family often looks at.

Costume designer Maria Rita Barbera does terrific work with the clothes as it‘s mostly casual and understated to play into the somber tone of the film. Sound editor Benni Atria does superb work with the sound from the way some of the film‘s locations sound to the way music is played in the room during a somber scene. The film’s music by Nicola Piovani is wonderful for its somber yet serene score that plays into the restrained melodrama of the film while its soundtrack features some Italian pop songs plus contributions from Michael Nyman and Brian Eno.

The film’s brilliant ensemble cast includes some notable small roles from Roberto Nobile as a priest, Renato Scarpa as Andrea’s headmaster, Claudio Santamaria as dive shop clerk, Silvio Orlando as the patient Oscar who called on the day Andrea would die, Claudia Della Setta as obsessive-compulsive patient, Stefano Accorsi as a sex-addicted patient, and Sofia Vigliar as a young woman who met Andrea. Giuseppe Sanfelice is terrific as Andrea as a young man dealing with growing pains as well as the trouble he caused at school.

Jasmine Trinca is amazing as Andrea’s older sister Irene who starts to disconnect herself from her friends following her brother’s death while having a hard time coping with her loss. Laura Morante is fantastic as Andrea’s mother Paola as a mother ravaged by grief as she tries to move on with her life only to become emotional. Finally, there’s Nanni Moretti in an excellent performance as Giovanni as a man trying to analyze everything about that day as well as figure out how to move only to realize how difficult it is as it would affect his work.

La stanza del figlio is a remarkable film from Nanni Moretti that features superb performances from Moretti, Laura Morante, Jasmine Trinca, and Giuseppe Sanfelice. It’s a film that explores death at its most shocking as well as its most intense while presenting it with such sensitivity and restraint. In the end, La stanza del figlio is a superb film from Nanni Moretti.

© thevoid99 2014