Hit Man (2023 Film)

''Hit Man'' is a 2023 American romantic crime comedy film produced and directed by Richard Linklater, who co-wrote the screenplay with Glen Powell. The film stars Powell, Adria Arjona, Austin Amelio, Retta, and Sanjay Rao. It follows an undercover New Orleans police contractor who poses as a reliable hitman as he tries to save a woman in need. The basic premise was based on the true story of a college professor who worked for the Houston police in the late 1980s and 1990s as a fake hitman, as described in a 2001 magazine article by Skip Hollandsworth.

''Hit Man'' premiered at the 80th Venice International Film Festival on September 5, 2023. It was released in select theaters in the United States on May 24, 2024, before its streaming debut by Netflix on June 7, to critical acclaim.

Plot

Gary Johnson is a mild-mannered professor of psychology and philosophy at the University of New Orleans who also works for the New Orleans Police Department to assist in sting operations. When Jasper, an undercover detective who portrays fake hitmen to solicit and then prevent murder-for-hire schemes is suspended for brutality, Gary is unwillingly ushered into the role.

Gary quickly finds himself to be a natural in garnering solicitations, researching suspects in advance, and tailoring a unique hitman persona for each. He becomes a confident and charismatic man named Ron for a discontented married woman named Madison, who is trying to have her abusive husband killed. Gary quickly finds himself both sympathetic and attracted to her, ultimately refusing the money and suggesting she use it to restart her life, much to the disappointment of Jasper and Gary's co-workers, Claudette and Phil.

Gary later begins a sexual relationship with Madison without revealing his true identity to her. To keep up the appearance of being a hitman, Gary shows her how to use a gun, advising her to aim for the heart. While leaving a nightclub, Gary and Madison have a heated encounter with Ray, Madison's husband, which ends with Gary pulling a gun to back him off. Later that night, the couple encounter Jasper, who is suspicious of their being together. A furious Ray attempts to have Madison killed, unknowingly contacting Gary.

Upon recognizing Gary as Madison's boyfriend, Ray rushes out of the sting, proclaiming that he will kill her himself. Gary informs Madison and attempts to move her out of her house, but she dismisses his fears, stating that Ray would not follow through. Gary later learns that Ray was killed after being shot in the heart. He confronts Madison, and she admits to the murder, prompting him to reveal his true identity in a panic.

After being kicked out by Madison, Gary returns to the police, who reveal their evidence on her is building after discovering Ray increased his life insurance policy before he died. Jasper, who knows of Gary and Madison's relationship and is jealous that he took his job, suggests Gary try to elicit a confession out of her using the character of Ron.

Gary arrives at Madison's house with a wire and pretends to interrogate her while giving her acting cues typed on his phone. Their charade convinces the police that she is innocent, but Jasper later comes to Madison's home, blackmailing her and Gary to pay him the money that Madison inherited from Ray's life insurance policy, lest he send them both to prison for Ray's murder. Madison drugs Jasper's drink, causing him to pass out, and Gary ties a plastic bag over his head, planning to stage his murder as a suicide.

Years later, Gary and Madison are happily married with two children.

Cast

Production

Before the 2022 Cannes Film Market, ''Hit Man'' was announced to international buyers with Richard Linklater directing and writing and Glen Powell starring and producing. The screenplay, based on the article "Hit Man" by Skip Hollandsworth published in ''Texas Monthly'' in 2001, was written by Richard Linklater and Glen Powell, who also directed and starred, respectively. The article told the true story of Gary Johnson, a college professor who worked for the Houston police in the late 1980s and 1990s, pretending to be a contract killer. Much of the rest of the plot is fiction. He died in 2022, and the film includes a dedication before the end credits: "Dedicated to Gary Johnson, 1947 – 2022".

AGC Studios reported strong sales for international distribution at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival. Powell was joined by Austin Amelio, Retta, and Molly Bernard in October 2022. Filming began in New Orleans in October 2022, and production was completed that November.

Release

''Hit Man'' had its world premiere at the 80th Venice International Film Festival on September 5, 2023. It was followed afterward by its North American premiere at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) on September 11. It also screened at the 2023 BFI London Film Festival on October 6, 2023.

Netflix acquired distribution rights to the film in the US, UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, India, South Korea, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Singapore, Philippines, and Iceland for $20 million at TIFF, making it the largest film deal of the festival and of 2023, with plans for a theatrical release as well. It was released in select theaters in the United States on May 24, 2024, before streaming on Netflix starting on June 7, 2024.

Reception

Critical response

The film received critical acclaim. Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 82 out of 100, based on 55 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".

Writing for ''The Washington Post'', Ty Burr awarded the film four out of four, calling it "a blast of pure pleasure and one of the year's best films". In another positive review, Alissa Wilkinson of ''The New York Times'' described ''Hit Man'' as "romantic, sexy, hilarious, satisfying and a genuine star-clinching turn for Glen Powell". Wilkinson, along with several other reviewers, remarked on the philosophical questions posed by the film. Peter Bradshaw of ''The Guardian'' wrote that the multiple identities assumed by Gary allow both the character and the viewer to consider "the question of whether there is in fact a true 'self', an irreducible core of authentic identity that remains behind when all imitations or influences are removed". Brian Tallerico of '' RogerEbert.com'' also described the movie as a "philosophical study of the human capacity to change". However, Zachary Barnes of ''The Wall Street Journal'' noted a lack of subtlety, calling Gary's lectures in philosophy class "overly obvious as expressions of the movie's themes". Chris Evangelista of ''Slashfilm'' wrote a mixed review in which he described the film as "forgettable, and often uninspired", though he praised the performances.

Accolades

Notes

References

External links

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{{Richard Linklater

2023 crime comedy films
2023 romantic comedy films
2020s American films
2020s English-language films
2020s screwball comedy films
American screwball comedy films
2020s police comedy films
AGC Studios films
American crime comedy films
American films based on actual events
American police films
American romantic comedy films
Crime comedy films based on actual events
English-language crime comedy films
English-language romantic comedy films
Fictional portrayals of the New Orleans Police Department
Films about contract killing in the United States
Films about educators
Films based on newspaper and magazine articles
Films directed by Richard Linklater
Films set in New Orleans
Films shot in New Orleans
Netflix original films
Romantic comedy films based on actual events
Romantic crime films