Matador

THE MATADOR is hit-man movie lite....if you can say that about a hit-man movie. The violence is never really shown but often introduced. At first I was scared I was in for another retread of mid-90s gangster-hit-man-hipster-dark comedy BUT was happily surprised when I realized this is just a sweet and humorous story about friendship. Nothing terribly exciting happens in this film but every bit of it is kept me grinning. The three leads have the best chemistry the big screen has offered in recent years and it looks like they had a great time making this film together. The writing is sharp though at times it felt as if the script had been adapted from a stage play because of the one set dialog scenes. This is a good film that I probably won't remember for too long but at the time it was a complete joy. Good film.

A hit-man who is The Dude and Bad Santa both at once.

Pierce Brosnan is at his best and most hilarious in Richard Sherpherd's The Matador (2005), as a booze-drenched over the hill hit-man who loves bullfights, tacky clothes and teenage girls. It is his unapologetic lust for the latter that provide some great laughs in the film.. There is nothing funnier than hearing a sleazy, broken-down version of James Bond exclaim after ogling some Catholic schoolgirls, "God I hate these Catholic countries; it's all blushy blushy, no suckie fuckie."

So Brosnan has a terrifically dirty mouth in The Matador and this is juxtaposed with Greg Kinnear's goody-goody family man character in their newfound, unlikely friendship. Both these characters elicit real sympathy, but especially Brosnan who should be a very unlikable character, a man desperate for a meaningful relationship in his life but just can't stop himself from saying the wrong things. We follow these two very different men as they learn from each other and start changing their lives, projecting equal doses of heart and humour.

The Matador effective in the sense that it mixes absurdity and quirkiness just right and glazes it with a dark comedy coating feel. It is also quite funny thanks to its Brosnan performance, but it does not have much in the way of a plot and no other characters or detours are even worth mentioning - so it is sadly very forgettable. Still, if you are even a slight fan of Brosnan's I urge you to see this film which is easily his greatest performance, and it's a crime he wasn't showered with awards for it.

6.5/10

"The Matador" stars Pierce Brosnan as a burned out assassin. He's James Bond gone to seed, in too-tight, garish clothes, gold chains, and an ugly haircut. Our struggling assassin, Julian Noble, is in Mexico, trying to regain his nerve. Staying at the same hotel is a likable, down-on-his luck businessman Danny Wright (Greg Kinnear), also trying to regain his equilibrium. Danny is desperate to close a deal and return to his wife in Denver (Hope Davis) with good news.

Noble and Wright unexpectedly become friends. Wright convinces Noble to reveal certain techniques, which he demonstrates at a bullfight. Noble is eventually targeted by his employers and shows up in Denver.

Writer and director Richard Shepard did the Q&A after this delightful movie at the Austin Film Festival. Shepard was also down on his luck. After suffering the loss of his agent and rejection of recent scripts, he decided to write a story no one would buy and create a character no one would want to play. Then Pierce Brosnan called. Brosnan regains his equilibrium in this movie. (There is life after Bond!) He has a wonderful flair for self-deprecating comedy. Don't miss it.

Stay for the closing credits to read what the filmmakers say about bullfighting. I look forward to more of Richard Shepard's projects.

This film is fantastic. Finally well-written characters you can love for all their good and bad. Pierce Brosnan is flat-out hysterical in this self-effacing role. I think its the best thing he's ever done. He's done other roles that exhibited shades of being capable of this kind of fully-fledged work, but this role finally gave him the room to run with it. I almost died when he walked across the hotel lobby in his underwear and boots. And Greg Kinnear and Hope Davis are a couple to aspire too, as well as actors to aspire too. Kinnear is so goofy likable that his turn in the end is truly gratifying. You give good actors good work to play with and they give us something more back.

Star / producer Pierce Brosnan exercises his comedic chops in this rather nuanced look at the life and career of a veteran hitman. Julian Noble (Brosnan) meets a struggling businessman, Danny Wright (Greg Kinnear) when their paths cross in Mexico City. The two become good friends - better friends than we even realize at first, because after Julian has botched more than one job, he becomes a dead man walking. And it is Danny to whom he turns for help. While Danny and his wife "Bean" (Hope Davis) are understandably dismayed at the presence of a professional killer in their home, they get over it, becoming rather intrigued by this charming, eccentric individual.

The supporting cast features some solid actors - Philip Baker Hall, Dylan Baker, Adam Scott - and Davis is enchanting as the loving wife, but the main reason that "The Matador" works as well as it does is due to the interplay between two interesting characters. Brosnan and Kinnear play this extremely well; indeed, Brosnan has never been quite this endearing or amusing before. Also, "The Matador" is a highly offbeat affair, foregoing some of the trappings that one might expect from a tale about a hitman. It forgets about violence (for the most part) and action set pieces, concentrating on its poignant moments and its humour.

Written and directed by the talented Richard Shepard, "The Matador" spends some time globe trotting and offering up some international locales. The title stems from Julians' enjoyment of watching bullfights, and belief that the spectacle is not without honour. The struggle of our haunted main character to overcome his mental blocks and emotional problems does make him vulnerable, and certainly as likeable as any person could be who earns their living killing people.

The brief sight of Brosnan in a cheerleaders' outfit is absolutely priceless. He'd made a good living playing debonair types, but here he really cuts loose for once, and the film is all the better for it. But this is not meant to sell Kinnear short, as he does an excellent job at playing the "straight man" with a tragic past and uncertain present.

Seven out of 10.