Richard Linklater‘s “Hit Man” is a film with a serious identity crisis. This genre blending disaster starts out as a wannabe goofy comedy, then veers off the rails into dark noir, finally settling on a bizarrely erotic femme-fatale rom-com. This movie is absolutely terrible, and its only saving grace is its lead’s bonafide Hollywood star power.
Straight-laced professor Gary Johnson (Glen Powell) has an odd hobby: he moonlights with the New Orleans Police Department as a fake hit man. With a penchant for inhabiting different personalities and donning outrageous costumes, Gary has a knack for telling potential clients (and marks) just the right things to get them arrested. Things get complicated when he falls for Madison (Adria Arjona), a potential criminal who meets with Gary to discuss hiring him to murder her awful husband. The two start a romantic relationship in a sea of deception and moral ambiguity, which changes Gary’s life forever.
It’s a great premise for a film, but Linklater just can’t make it work. While he admittedly isn’t one of my favorite directors, he completely misses the mark here. The narrative is disjointed and the tonal inconsistencies are too jarring, and no amount of talent can balance the uneven, overstuffed elements of comedy, romance, and thriller. The film struggles on just about every level, but thankfully Powell saves it from being completely unwatchable.
Powell is the highlight here. His charm and versatility shines as he navigates the complex layers of his character. This is an actor who is a true chameleon, and the film at least provides a vehicle where he can showcase his range. Powell is great; the movie is not.
Linklater introduces a lot of bland melodrama with the relationship between Gary and Madison and, despite a believable chemistry, it causes the film to stumble even more. With her character’s motivations being murky at best, it was impossible to feel fully invested in Madison’s relationship with Gary’s alter-ego, Ron.
For a film that had the potential to be so unique, it ends up feeling generic and unsatisfying. Despite having a small theatrical release, “Hit Man” is a disappointing effort that appropriately feels right at home as a streaming title on Netflix.
