Hit man, un tueur

Forrest Whitaker turns in a measured performance of a hitman as does Sherilyn Fenn as the potential victim. That's the bottom line with 'Diary of a Hitman'. A low budget, but effectively acted film that features quick appearances from established names Jim Belushi (as a cop) and Sharon Stone (as Fenn's characters sister).

Dekker (Whitaker) is a pro who often tells his victims "it's just business" before the final deed. Lately however those are the words he's barely able to hold onto as he sours on his line of work - the mental effects taking their toll. Looking to get out, he takes on 'the last job' from his employer Koenig (Seymour Cassel). It's an ugly number of taking out a man's wife Jain (Fenn) and child (who he says isn't his).

I gave 'Diary' a go exclusively because of Whitaker and ultimately it's the film's strongest asset. Fenn is effective, but also irritates you with her character's mannerisms and ploys to stay alive. Belushi & Stone are fun to see pop up, but don't really contribute much else. Being boxed up in one location for an extended period of the film provides tense atmosphere, but isn't visually pleasing.

Some sparse narration and visible mental deterioration from the hitman come across as convincing, but the last act is both hollow, more than a little trite. Leaving this film decidedly average, underwhelming in many regards, but still worthy of a view for Whitaker's performance. If you don't find yourself a fan you can keep moving and not have missed much.

Forest Whitaker is an incredible actor. He is truly an amazing actor. One of the best actors of this generation.

And in this movie, he really shines. He does a really strong performance. His voice over is really good. He plays a very troubled hit man with an identity crisis and maybe a mid life crisis. He's very troubled by his job. Troubled by his purpose in life. He gets paid well for his hitman job and he's very good at his job.

But he's very tired and very troubled by his routine. We get a lot of monologues of his inner thoughts. And I really loved this part of the movie. Forest Whitaker is talking to himself and to the audience. We get to hear everything he's feeling. We get to hear his inner conflict. We get to connect with him and his inner feelings.

The second part of the movie all deals with him taking a job and having a hard time finishing the job, having an inner conflict in hurting innocents. The second part of the movie is the conflict and turmoil between him and Sherilyn Fenn. They have a very strong and dark confrontation and the dilemma of Forest Whitaker hurting two innocents.

He has a job to do but his conscience won't let him do it. There's a lot of money on the line but he is troubled by his morality.

I really liked this movie and everyone gave good strong performances. Even the smaller roles like the psychologist was very good.

Dekker (Forest Whitaker) is a troubled hitman. He tries therapy. He's having eyesight problems. He gets a new job which he hopes to be his last. He gets a suspicious change including a hit on a baby. He is about to kill Jain (Sherilyn Fenn) when he's interrupted by her friend Kiki (Sharon Stone).

I like the meandering setup to the hit. I like spending time with Dekker. I even like going to the eye doctor. Once he gets into the apartment, he needs a good reason for delaying. He has to give a reason. It becomes stretched out. He could get that reason by talking to Jain. I don't really understand Dekker's thinking. Quite frankly, it starts with changing the hit. He smells something fishy right away but he should do something about it. I just want Dekker to be written smarter.

Diary of a Hitman (1991) is a movie that I recently watched on Tubi. The storyline follows a Hitman that is going blind and is about to retire. He has one last job that breaks all his codes and rules which causes him to get sloppy. Will he be able to get back on track or will this assignment be his demise?

This movie is directed by Roy London (Episodes of The Larry Sanders Show) and stars Forest Whitaker (The Butler), Sharon Stone (Casino), Jim Belushi (Res Heat) and Sherilyn Fenn (Wild at Heart).

The cast in this is really good and I enjoyed the characters. The narration was entertaining and Forest Whitaker was a good main character. Sharon Stone was perfectly cast in her bit role too. The storyline and some of the sub plots didn't work for me. I'm not sure I ever felt the Hitman breaking his rules aligned to the character. A lot of the decisions seemed like a stretch. The dialogue is good. There's a church scene that is well executed. The way they portrayed his eye site was really good. The ending also felt unrealistic.

Overall, this was worth a watch but doesn't overly standout within the movies about hitmen (it's not Leon: The Professional). I would consider this an average to slightly above average movie and score this a 5.5/10.

"Diary of a Hit-man" is something more than the average entry into the neo-noir genre of many such films produced in the 80s/90s. They usually hold a similar trashy appeal, more style than substance, and not too much in the way of quality performances. Forest Whitaker helps to make this an exception from the mold. Here, playing a variant of his later role in "Ghost Dog", he lets you into the mind of a conflicted, controlling, somewhat neurotic hit-man.

This film was adapted from a play by Kenneth Pressman, and the middle act pays testament to that. A series of scenes in a small apartment capture a real depth of emotion, both from Whitaker and his target (played by Sherilyn Fenn). It seems almost claustrophobic, but there's a power to it. Roy London doesn't show a lot of experience in his direction, but he does express a good deal of humanity. This is a grounded film, personal. There's no cheap exploitation feel, nor is there any sense of big budget Hollywood.

The acting is the real reason to watch "Diary of a Hit-man". Even the small roles have something to offer. I particularly liked the two doctors, one a psychiatrist (John Bedford Lloyd), the other an optometrist (Ken Lerner). James Belushi and Sharon Stone show up briefly, but aren't given a whole lot to do. This isn't an overly complicated or particularly far-reaching film, but the narration lets you under its skin, and there's no terrible overacting or delusions of grandeur. The title might seem cheap, but "Diary of a Hit-man" has a lot more to offer.