Assassin for Hire

Yes,I am glad to have caught this little British noir, written by Juilan Wintle - the author of AVENGERS TV series, among other films and TV shows - and telling the story of two brothers, one musician and the other one...

I will let you find out; the title may tell something about the plot. Tense, taut, vivid little film, that keeps some surprise for you, is worth seeing for an audience in search for rare movies from the other side of the Channel. There are so many to purchase.

The director essentially worked for TV, and his classic features are not very known.

First, the whole film is seriously undermined by Tafler's dreadful version of an Italian accent and wooden acting. The script is somewhat clichéd too. The settings are reasonable and the pace isn't too slow. Sadly, nothing actually makes you think "that's different!" Or "that's a new approach. " It would help if the viewer could empathise with Tafler or the sister who has little to do or say to develop a character based plot. The whole affair feels like a short story padded and tricked out to last three reels. More like watered down Edgar Wallace. A principle part for a camel-hair coat, the desideratum of the third lead has the potential to be humorous in other hands.

The title makes this sound like a film noir thriller but in fact it turns out to be an engaging little character study about a stamp collector by day and assassin by night. It's lifted by the presence of the excellent and underrated Sydney Tafler as the lead - he's typically good in the part, and entirely sympathetic - alongside a script which focuses on the characterisation throughout, thus making it more engrossing than most.

A lot of activity is squeezed into this tight 64 minutes. Howard is the cop who takes a chance to capture suspected killer Tafler. The story unfolds in a methodical manner with first little hints and then later more concrete evidence being presented. No real dramatic twists but the film does build in a way to maintain an interest. You are always one step ahead of the plot but the presentation adds an edge to the experience.

I like the way that a small cast and short running time gives a watchable drama. The makers could easily have added an extra 20 minutes of padding and added a few yawns along the way.

The short running time does resemble a TV drama so don't expect a blockbuster. However if you want to while away an hour this is a good choice.

Sydney Tafler is quite outstanding as the Anglo Italian assassin, and maintains his Italian accent throughout the film. One minor gripe is that his on-screen brother has no accent whatsoever! But it has a clever plot, with a fine surprise near the end.