Rarely has the chemistry between two leading actors been as good as in this film!
Foto: LEONINE Studios
“What if your self is a construct?” philosophy and psychology professor Gary Johnson asks his students. Soon the inconspicuous, everyday guy, whose cats are tellingly named “Id” (It) and “Ego” (I), will be putting himself to the test of this question in practice. Because Gary also works for the New Orleans police and helps them with wiretapping technology. But one day he is supposed to spontaneously step in for his antisocial colleague Jasper: the gentle Gary has to act like a contract killer so that the potential customers verbally express their intentions and pass money across the table so that the police can arrest them. Contrary to expectations, he shines in the role of the tough “Hit Man” – as “A Killer Romance” is originally called. From then on he is regularly used as a suspected contract killer.
The 34-year-old Glen Powell, who has so far only shone in supporting roles, such as most recently as the smug pilot in “Top Gun 2 – Maverick”, embodies this professor with such verve and enthusiasm that one has the feeling of the overdue birth of a Hollywood star to attend.
Powell played his first leading role in Richard Linklater’s college comedy “Everybody Wants Some.” Here he was not only involved in the script, but also the initiator of the killer comedy, which was shot on a low budget. The shared script is loosely based on a true story – a newspaper article about a teacher who acted as a hitman for the police.
The nice Gary is visibly thriving as a fake contract killer. He prepares meticulously, checks the social media pages of his “customers” before each assignment and comes up with a credible persona for each one. He can finally put his theoretical knowledge of people, which he ironically comments on from the off, into practice! His colleagues in the surveillance van, played by Retta and Sanjay Rao, who provide a few additional laughs, can hardly believe his changeability.
Gary gives each of his clients exactly what they expect from a man who kills people for money. You can hardly wait until he slips into a new persona again: He plays the hillbilly with a camouflage headscarf and rude behavior while shooting clay pigeons together, a queer psycho outfit is just as much a part of his repertoire as a suit and slicked-back hair in Bond style . It’s like watching a highly amusing screwball version of Breaking Bad.
But Gary’s signature role is that of the extremely charming Ron. In this disguise he also meets the femme fatale Madison (Adria Arjona), who, in deep desperation, wants to have her abusive husband killed. But from the first minute there are such sparks between the two that Ron/Gary decides to dissuade them from their plan. He convinces her to start a new life instead. Rarely has the chemistry between two leading actors been as good as in this film!
As it happens, the two hotties start dating, quickly end up in bed together, and Gary’s double life gets more and more out of control. In a lucid moment, he wonders how he can have sex with someone who wanted to have his husband killed – but he still can’t let go of Madison. His long-suppressed masculinity is on fire! More and more, Gary wonders: What would Ron do?
The Amour fou leads to morally dubious twists in the black comedy that is completely unpredictable, which multiplies the viewing pleasure. So the two are seen together, and Madison’s disgusting husband develops a dark desire for revenge.
The whole chaos culminates in a brilliant scene that is a prime example of comedic timing. That alone makes it worth seeing the film a second time. Just this much: Using secretly typed messages on his cell phone, Gary manages to divert suspicion from their relationship and Madison’s possible involvement in a murder.
The only downside is an over-the-top scene towards the end of the film, where the laughter gets a little stuck in your throat. One would have expected such a macabre scene from a film by Quentin Tarantino or the Coen brothers, but not from the creator of the unique coming-of-age drama “Boyhood” and the romantic “Before” trilogy.
Nevertheless, the bottom line is that the intelligent game with identities is a killer pleasure, not least because of the playful cast, especially Glen Powell, who you immediately want to see in another film. Such clever dialogues, unpredictable twists and immoral storytelling that doesn’t care about sales markets have unfortunately become a rarity these days. And Gary’s final warning to his good students leaves the audience exhilarated from the cinema: “Live the identity you want – with all your passion!”
»A Killer Romance« (original title: Hit Man): USA 2023. Director: Richard Linklater. Book: Richard Linklater, Glen Powell. With: Glen Powell, Adria Arjona, Austin Amelio, Retta. 113 min. Release date: July 4th.
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