Ivan Radford | On 08, Jun 2024

Director: Richard Linklater
Cast: Glen Powell, Adria Arjona
Certificate: 15

Richard Linklater is one of the most unpredictable directors working today. From the nostalgic Apollo 10 1/2, the poignant Last Flag Flying, the thoughtful and ambitious Boyhood and the masterful Before trilogy to the funny School of Rock and the seminal Dazed and Confused, he slips effortlessly from comedy to drama with only a whimsical earnestness to give him away. Now, he’s stepped into thriller territory for Hit Man, a comedy that’s so effortlessly entertaining it’s as natural as breathing.

The film is based on the true story of Gary Johnson, who posed as a hit man for the cops, taping clients to get evidence of their intent to commit murder that can be used in court. Here, he’s a university professor played by Glen Powell. Dull and bookish, with a tendency to muse on what identity and the “self” means, his tech skills are what lead him to moonlight for the police in bugging suspects conspiring to kill – and when their usual fake hit man, Jasper (Austin Amelio), ends up out of the picture, Gary fills in.

Unexpectedly, he’s a natural, and he begins constructing elaborate costumes and researching his marks so he can disappear into each case. Adopting a persona called “Ron”, he changes everything about himself, swaggering with a newfound confidence, cracking jokes with unexpected wit and threatening people with a hitherto unseen grit. “When did our professor become hot?” remarks one of the students.

What’s remarkable is how much that transformation is captured by Glen Powell, who demonstrates once and for all why he’s suddenly everywhere in Hollywood. He’s chameleonic with only the slightest shift in gait or accent, and is clearly having a ball trying out any character he can get his hands on – and, in a perfect match for Linklater joint, that excitement is totally authentic to Gary’s own journey, as he relishes the opportunity to be anyone else but himself.

At what point does Gary stop becoming Gary and start becoming other people? At what point do other identities help to bring out the real essence of who Gary is? The script – co-written by Linklater and Powell – wears its themes a bit too much on its sleeve, with Gary’s lectures pondering on such questions in between the montage of malleable masquerades. But it’s pulled off with an irresistible charm and a wonderful sense of humour, not to mention a huge dose of chemistry.

All three are delivered first class by Adria Arjona, who is a delight to watch as Madison, a suspect who wants to bump off her husband – only for Gary to fall head over heels for her and talk her out of it. What ensues is a twisting, fizzing ride through romantic comedy and crime caper territory, as Gary’s colleagues – including the hilarious Retta – all try to work out what’s going on. Gary and Madison, meanwhile, try to work out who they are, who each other is and what they actually want. From entertaining banter to heated showdowns, they trade barbs and flirtatious remarks with an authenticity that feels like they’re trying to make the other person laugh rather than amuse an audience. The result is self-aware but easygoing, in a way that’s utterly disarming and wonderfully surprising.

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