STREET DATE: JULY 4th
Official Synopsis:
Pierce Brosnan is outstanding as an international hit man falling apart at the seams in Richard Shepard's dark comedy The Matador. Brosnan, riffing on his success playing the very well groomed and genteel James Bond and Remington Steele, stars as Julian Noble, a no-longer-noble hit man who spends his free time getting drunk and chasing impossibly young skirts. In Mexico he meets Danny Wright (Greg Kinnear), an average Joe trying to land an important business deal. Jealous of Danny's simple life, Julian becomes friends with the Denver suburbanite, who married his high school sweetheart, Bean (the very good Hope Davis), but lost his young son in a terrible accident. One day at a bullfight, Julian tells Danny what he does for a living, but Danny doesn't believe him--until Julian shows him an example of his expertise. But when Julian asks Danny to help him with his next assignment, Danny is dead-set against it, and ready to end their brief friendship. Little does he know that he has not seen the last of the rather unique hitman. Writer-director Shepard, whose previous work includes the indie films Oxygen, Mercy, and The Linguini Incident, shows a deft hand for offbeat comedy in The Matador, a very funny movie with a razor-sharp edge to it. Brosnan and Kinnear make a great duo, the latter the straight man to the former's reckless abandon. Shepard keeps the laughs coming with huge titles announcing the different locations as well as with a brilliant soundtrack featuring songs by Tom Jones and Asia in addition to the Jam, the Killers, and the Cramps--whose 'Garbageman' anchors a hysterical scene involving Julian, a can of beer, a pair of Speedos, a hotel lobby, and a shark.
Our Take:
The Matador is one of those great little movies that didn't get anywhere near the attention it deserved. It's a black comedy fueled by booze, sex, and assassinations, and both Pierce Brosnan and Greg Kinnear turn in stunning, nuanced, funny, and poignant performances.
Brosnan plays a hitman coming apart at the seams, while Kinnear plays a white-as-white-can-be businessman who is the very definition of square. When the two inadvertently meet in a hotel bar, the real fun starts. The Matador isn't laugh out loud funny, but it has both a playful spirit and a healthy mean streak (along with a wicked sense of visual style) that keeps it fresh and compelling from start to finish. Pierce Brosnan needs to win some kind of award for his role as Julian Noble; it's been a long time since I've seen an actor go through the range of emotions he does in this film. Greg Kinnear similarly attacks his role with glee; his dorky-white-man shtick slowly peels away to reveal hidden depths of emotion.
In addition to this exciting film, the DVD release for The Matador includes some pretty nifty extra features as well.
* Making The Matador (7 minutes) - A fairly typical EPK-style featurette, featuring interviews with Brosnan, Kinnear, and Hope Davis.
* Deleted & Extended Scenes - Eleven scenes with a running time of about 16 minutes, which can be viewed with optional audio commentary by director Richard Shepard.
* Commentaries - There is a commentary with director Richard Shepard, but the real standout is the fun track with Brosnan, Kinnear, and Shepard.
* Director Richard Shepard On The Radio - Two radio show segments featuring the director talking about the movie: NPR's The Business and KCRW's The Treatment.
* Theatrical Trailer and TV Spot.
The Matador is a quirky, character-driven piece fueled by sharp dialogue, stylish editing, and two magnificent performances. If you like discovering films that are under the radar but better than most mainstream fare, definitely check this one out.
RECOMMENDED!
Overall Picture:
Movie: A-
DVD: B+
- Mike Spring
Editor
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