Given how few of them probably exist, it is astonishing that the professional assassin gets so much screen time. Early films like Assassin for Hire and Le Samourai helped create the myth of the tortured, deadly killer who has a strict moral code or a philosophical streak. The appeal of the hitman continued well into last year, with John Wick Chapter Four and The Killer capturing the popular imagination (there is also a John Wick prequel TV series on the way).
Since films about assassins will never go away, the best we can hope for is a new, refreshing way to make stories about them. American Star, the new low-key drama from Spanish filmmaker Gonzalo López-Gallego, follows a hitman who would rather be a tourist than do his job. Reluctance is a common feeling for these anti-heroes, and so the novelty of the hero’s trip – all before fulfilling a contract – is more meandering than thoughtful. Stunning vistas are a good reason to stick around a remote island, although their appeal is not so immediate when we are, essentially, watching someone else’s vacation.
When we meet Wilson (Ian McShane), he has just arrived at Fuerteventura, one of the Canary Islands with a population of less than 150,000 people. The island looks like a desert, full of craggy rocks and limited vegetation, and Wilson cuts a distinct silhouette in this environment. Unlike the other people he encounters there, he always wears a black suit with a dark shirt underneath. Multiple strangers ask Wilson why he wears something more comfortable or goes for a swim, and Wilson nonchalantly suggests he has no other alternative. Only McShane, a veteran character actor with a silky deep voice and natural charm, could pull off a character this reserved and collected. He is in nearly every scene of American Star, and here he takes his character from John Wick, then adds an element of detached sadness.
During his stay at Fuerteventura, Wilson develops casual friendships with the locals, and other guests at his hotel. There is the boy in the room down the hall, with whom Wilson acts like a grandfather, perhaps because his father is too absent-minded to see his kid’s loneliness. Still, the more intriguing character is Gloria (Nora Arnezeder), a young bartender who ingratiates herself with Wilson, becoming a volunteer tour guide. But since we know Wilson is an assassin, as evidenced by the handgun he keeps in his luggage, there is a gnawing suspicion that one of these people might be his potential target. The economy of characters means it is easy to figure out where the story is going, and yet the script by Nacho Faerna treats a simple development like it should be a surprise.
With an obvious trajectory, American Star is more appealing as a travelogue. López-Gallego makes the most out of his exotic setting and includes strange flourishes like wide-angle lenses that distort the countryside. Perhaps he wants to exaggerate how Wilson fits into the exterior scenes or give us a sense of how he looks at the world. These decisions are curious, rather than distracting, and sometimes they serve the material like when Wilson and Gloria encounter “American Star,” a rusty abandoned ocean liner that’s been stuck on the island’s shore for years. The image of the ship is striking, a clear metaphor for Wilson’s station in life. López-Gallego does not trust we will make the connection, so at one point Wilson whispers to himself, “[The ship] is the same age as me.” Once again, the film mistakes the obvious for the profound.
In the film’s final scenes, the guns come out and murder is waiting. These scenes are not tense, to the point where calling American Star a thriller is borderline false advertising, nor does the climax have a sense of fate. This film unfolds as if the filmmakers wanted to make a drama that would not sell, so they introduced a hitman to make it more palatable. Wilson’s ambivalence about his occupation bleeds into how we feel about the drama, so the film loses any sense of poignance in its final minutes. But McShane is such a charming actor, who can suggest sophistication and menace out of thin air, that his unhurried journey toward killing is not a complete waste. Not unlike an assassin who is weary about an upcoming assignment, to watch McShane here is to see a great character actor in search of a film worthy of his talents.
Photo courtesy of IFC Films
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