Like Woman of the Hour, Hit Man is a Netflix film that was critically acclaimed when it was released but which didn’t get much of an Oscar push during Awards Season.
The majority of the film’s acclaim was for Glen Powell, who plays Gary Johnson. Gary is a psychology professor at the University of New Orleans. When we first see him, he’s not exactly the most dynamic professor on campus. In fact, he’s so mild-mannered that most of his students would probably be stunned to learn that he has a side job working for the New Orleans Police Department. He helps them set up sting operations, advising a cop named Jasper (Austin Amelio) on how to pretend to be a hit man. Jasper, being kind of a douchebag, doesn’t really appreciate the advice. However, when Jasper gets suspended for beating a suspect, Gary is quickly recruited to take Jasper’s place as the department’s fake killer.
To his surprise, Gary turns out to be very good at pretending to be a professional killer. Using his academic skills, he gets a read on the person who wants to hire him and then he shapes his persona to appeal to that person’s needs. The best part of the film are the montages where we see Gary taking on identity after identity. Soon, Gary is the NPD’s best undercover cop, even if he’s technically not even a part of the force. He even becomes a better psychology professor as pretending to be someone else allows him to loosen up in his real life as well. But then he meets a woman (Adria Arjona) who wants to have her abusive husband killed. For the first time, Gary tries to talk someone out of committing a murder.
And through it all, Glen Powell gives an excellent and charismatic performance as not only Gary but also all the different killers that he pretends to be. If nothing else, this film proves that Glen Powell is not just a likable actor. He’s a legitimate film star, capable of creating a believable character and getting the audience to care about what happens to him. Powell gets good support from both Arjona and Austin Amelio and the various actors who pop up as people who want to hire a hit man all make a strong impression as well. But, make no mistake about it, Hit Man is a showcase for Glen Powell. Just as he did with Matthew McConaughey in Dazed and Confused, Richard Linklater introduces audiences to a film star in Hit Man.
That said, I have to admit that, outside of Powell’s performance, I was a little bit dissatisfied with the direction that Hit Man took its story. There are eventually two actual murders in Hit Man. One of the murders occurs offscreen and can at least be justified by what we know about the victim. The other murder takes place onscreen and, even though the victim isn’t particularly likable, it still feels a bit drawn out and out-of-place in what had otherwise been a fairly breezy comedy.
Narrative flaws aside, Hit Man is worth seeing for Powell’s movie star performance.
Through the Shattered Lens 