A salesman makes an unlikely friendship with a hit man in the dark comedy, THE MATADOR. Danny Wright, played by Greg Kinnear, heads south of the border in order to convince a prospective company that his firm should handle their account. While in Mexico, he meets Julian Noble, an Irish assassin who has just performed his latest hit. After an uncomfortable exchange between the two at the hotel bar, the two men hit it off and head to a coliseum for a bullfight. After the fight, Julian decides that Danny may be up for something more, maybe a bit role in Julian’s next assignment.
I’ll be the first to tell you that recent dark comedies have either lacked an edge, a comic sense or both. THE MATADOR surprised me, being both impetuous and humorous, riding the slippery slope between comedy and distaste. Writer-director Richard Shepard has crafted two characters who are headed in opposite directions, Julian towards a softer center, and Danny on the brink of a nervous breakdown. With Danny and Julian’s unpredictability, it opens the possibilities and suspense up to unforeseen conclusions, and several funny moments. Kinear has found his niche as the average schmuck, while Brosnan is especially good in a performance I didn’t think was in him. Tossing aside his debonair demeanor, Brosnan chews up every scene, enabling Julian to be many things: uneasy, alluring and even pathetic. THE MATADOR doesn’t break any new ground for dark comedies, but it does provide a fresh and welcomed relief from the genres more recent entries.
Grade: B
No comments:
Post a Comment