Review: The Matador (2005)
Think that you are on a business trip and you meet a random guy at the hotel bar. And he invites you for a day off and reveals that he is a hitman…
Yeah… That was the same feeling that Danny Wright got when he met Julian Noble at Mexico.
With the story and the direction of Richard Shepard, The Matador (2005) turned a new page in hitman movies. It is an action-crime-thriller movie. Not a “classic text book hitman story” but a real piece of gold. In the movie the story of the disillusioned, broken spirited hitman snitches the spotlight.
Julian Nobel is a successful, adept hitman who travels around the world “facilitating the fatalities” which are assigned by his handler. It is obvious that he has his own ways with the women too. During his visit to Mexico, he unexpectedly meets this former successful businessman Danny Wright who is seeking for a new path to success. Julian convinces Danny to attend a bullfight with him where he gives a little demonstration of his “business abilities”. As soon as the friendship reaches a good level, it experiences a huge shake when Julian asks Danny to be his assistant in his next assignment.
The time fast forward to six months when Danny is enjoying his success in the business again. But Julian has no luck left in his hands. Being unable to complete any of his assignments, Julian has become the assignment. This is the moment he turns to Danny for help in his last assignment.
The portrayal of the role of Julian by Pierce Brosnan is outstanding. Not only the visuals but also the verbal sparring helps to create the character. The counterpart to this performance is Greg Kinnear as Danny. The emotional conflicts, love and affection in Danny’s character is beautifully demonstrated by him. The character of Danny’s wife Bean which is portrayed by Hope Davis has a different taste. I see it as a mixture of qualities and talents of the both male characters are in her.
It is clear that the perfect blend of writing, character development, acting and editing develops the movie to a higher level where the audience embraces these fictional characters. We see the people with these behaviors in the society. The writer has done a marvelous work by collecting the behaviors and combining them to create these characters. It is important that the usage of songs and music in the movie is fascinating.
The Matador is a R rated movie. So, I do not recommend it to everyone. Nevertheless, if you are an action-crime-thriller movie lover, it is worth watching.
~GS Kariyapperuma
