The American (2010)
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A weary contract killer seeks a new life in the Italian countryside while haunted by a violent past.
The story
After a violent encounter in Sweden, Jack, a man living under a veil of secrecy, flees to Italy. He settles in the remote town of Castel del Monte, where he adopts the name Edward and attempts to distance himself from his past. While there, he takes on a job building a custom sniper rifle for a woman named Mathilde. As he navigates the local landscape, he forms a connection with a local woman named Clara and finds himself caught in a web of suspicion and danger, unsure of who can be trusted in his new, secluded life.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
After a deadly confrontation in Sweden where he kills both an assassin and his lover, Jack flees to the Italian mountains. Under the name Edward, he works for a man named Pavel and takes a contract to build a sniper rifle for Mathilde. While building a relationship with a local woman named Clara, Jack becomes increasingly paranoid about being followed. He eventually kills a pursuer and faces a series of tense encounters with Mathilde and Pavel. During a final delivery, a confrontation is averted by a school bus, but Mathilde remains a threat. In a final confrontation, Jack kills Pavel after Mathilde's assassination attempt fails due to his sabotage of the weapon. He then attempts to reach Clara, only to realize he has been shot and collapses as he reaches her.
- First release year
- 2010
- Runtime (minutes)
- 105
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English; Italian
- Directors
- Anton Corbijn
- Writers
- Rowan Joffé · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- George Clooney · Jack/Edward; Violante Placido · Clara; Thekla Reuten · Mathilde; Paolo Bonacelli · Father Benedetto; Patrizio Pelizzi · Antonio; Irina Björklund · Ingrid; Johan Leysen · Pavel; Filippo Timi · Fabio; Anna Foglietta · Anna; Björn Granath · the Swedish Assassin
- Genres
- crime thriller
- Themes
- isolation; paranoia; identity
- Premise and plot tags
- contract killing; espionage
- Source material / true-story basis
- A Very Private Gentleman by Martin Booth
- Reception
- The film received generally positive reviews from critics and was noted for its atmospheric, slow-paced style.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 64% · scale: percentage · review count: 223; Metacritic · score: 61 · scale: 100 · review count: 36
- Production trivia
- Portions of the dialogue between Jack and Clara were taken from Graham Greene's novel 'The Honorary Consul'.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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