The Job

Daryl Hannah as an over the age of 40 fading beauty with a contract killers position is hired on to get back several lbs of heroin from a boy ( played by Brad Renfro)and his girlfriend ( played by Dominique Swain) & to kill them both. She has a moment of clarity from the killing as she finds out the girl is pregnant which Ms Hannah later in the film finds that one of her numerous unfufilling one-night stands has made her preggie as well. She wants to quit the firm that has hired her on as a assassin & her boss won't let her. Eric Maibus has a mostly forgettable role as a gut Ms Hannah meets who falls for her & wants to save her from herself. Not a bad plot, not a bad film but just okay. ** out of *****

THE JOB follows in the tradition of great movies such as CHEATS and RUN RONNIE RUN that end up either premiering on cable or going direct-to-video. However, unlike CHEATS and RUN RONNIE RUN, THE JOB made its debut at Cannes. Just like a lot of the movies that debut at Cannes, no theatrical release was given to THE JOB and thus, it came direct-to-video. Perhaps the first question any viewer will ask themselves upon watching this movie is, "What happened to Daryl Hannah's career?" Yes, she appeared in KILL BILL this past fall, but that wasn't necessarily a huge comeback for her. While I didn't care that much for KILL BILL, I loved THE JOB, mainly due to Daryl Hannah. Regardless of how far down her career has gone, I still love her. She is a great actress and a hell of a good-looking one too. Here she plays CJ March, a female assassin who has decided she wants to put her days of killing behind her, but before she can call it quits, she has one last job to do. It's not the best premise it the world, but that doesn't stop it from being a great action/crime pic with tons of blood and gunfire. If blood and gunfire is what you like, be prepared to have a ball watching this flick. I know I did.

"The Job" is all about Hannah as a beautiful contract killer with a really bad attitude. This lame flick builds its story around her reluctance to make a final "hit" for reasons we're never really given to understand. We're led to believe she's killed often before but now, for whatever vague reason, she just doesn't want to "off" Renfro and his slutty girlfriend (Swain) to recover some drugs. And, if she doesn't fulfill her obligation and do the deed, her boss (Rocco), who looks too old to be able to pose a threat to anyone, will do something bad to her. And, if all that wasn't enough, she also has to contend with a young man (Mabius) who is falling in love with her in spite of her bad attitude, constant rejections, and a little problem with incipient motherhood. This far fetched bad idea conjures some decent performances and is adequately lensed and scored but can't escape its preposterous plot. It's asking us to care about a killer for no good reason and to believe she can't escape her over-the-hill boss even though she could simply point one of her many guns at him and pull the trigger instead of doing away with Renfro. Hey, what the hell, she could just kill them all but then we wouldn't have all the angst and misery we're supposed to be experiencing as we ponder this turkey. A slightly above average B flick, "The Job" is cinematic couch potato junk food currently on broadcast. (C+)

This film obviously went directly into DVD, and cable and oblivion, but it merits a viewing. Although the director is not a familiar name, he has a flair for presenting this story with a eye for detail. Kenny Goode knows a thing or two about the underbelly of the "city of angels".

The film presents us CJ March, an assassin for hire, who bungles the job she was sent to do and is drawn into a web of circumstances where she herself mirrors the same situation of one of the persons she is to liquidate. We understand by way of flashbacks that CJ, herself, has had an unhappy upbringing. She is a cold woman who has no problem killing until she gets herself in the same situation where she would never have dreamed of being.

Daryl Hannah is CJ's is splendid. She is an underrated actress, but in here she shows a range that is not immediately associated with her work before. Brad Renfro and Dominique Swain are good as the couple CJ is pursuing; they elude her most of the time, until the final show down. Alex Rocco as the CJ's employer strikes the right note as the man without scruples who manipulates people into committing crimes for him. Also effective is Eric Mabius who is too good for CJ, and eventually, her salvation.

As a moody film of suspense it proves satisfying as it keeps the viewer interested in every turn of the action.

ART?? by far one of the worst movies I have ever had sat thru. SIX gun shots throughout an "action" flick does not make an "action" flick!! Hannah has not aged well thanks to the photography in this piece and the other actors.... what? TERRIBLE ACTING throughout. Sorry!I am usually the type of person who manages to find at least one thing in every movie and use that one good thing to form an opinion... COME ON!!! In labor one minute... giving birth another... and then running the next??? The story BLAND. The cast crap. The soundtrack non-existent. The filming added nothing. Low budget F-rated movie. I'm just thankful my buddies didn't beat me up for picking it. What was the point of this movie? ART??