The American: (September 1st, 2010): R
Distributor: Focus Features
Opening Weekend Box-Office: #1 with $16,662,333
Domestic Box-Office Gross to-date: $19,806,118
Gross Revenue: $19,806,118
Budget: $20 million
Director: Anton Corbijn
Considering the popularity and box-office draw of George Clooney, Focus Features had potential box-office gold on its hands with this newest spy drama. The idea of an aging spy/assassin in a secluded foreign setting provoked audiences to think of George Clooney’s newest character as an older Jason Bourne. A second strong association generated by the trailers involved 20th Century Fox’s 2008 surprise-hit, Taken. If Liam Neeson could tear-apart some foreign villains while looking for his daughter, thereby cementing a reputation as an action star, why couldn’t George Clooney do something similar? The American is actually an adaptation of Martin Booth’s 1990 novel, “A Very Private Gentleman,” and even though I wasn’t familiar with the source material, the marketing campaign and early critical reviews still seemed to promise an engaging thriller.
The film opens with a couple vacationing in a remote cabin in Sweden; while walking they are suddenly attacked by tactical shooters, and the man, Jack (George Clooney), kills all of them with surprising efficiency. When the woman questions why they were attacked, a suspicious Jack does not hesitate to execute her as well. Jack then flees to a small Italian town, where he confides to an associate that he is being chased by Swedish assassins, so he decides to hide out in the secluded town. While there, Jack befriends an elderly priest (Paolo Bonacelli) and finds romance with a young escort, Carla (Violante Placido), reveling in his newfound solitude. However, Jack is soon approached by a mysterious young woman (Thekla Reuten) and contracted to construct a special rifle that will be used in an assassination. As he tries to build a new life, Jack struggles to escape his pursuers and forget his mysterious past.
Well, if that plot description sounded a little boring, your instincts are dead-on; I was expecting a thrilling drama, unfortunately all The American delivers is a slow and painfully dull film. The opening scene is infuriatingly deceitful, because when you see Clooney kill four people within the first two minutes, you expect that the rest of the film will be just as exciting. Sadly, the rest of the movie’s nearly two-hour run time primarily consists of watching George Clooney walk around, have meaningless conversations with the locals, and eventually construct a rifle. Clooney is usually a pretty charming and entertaining as an actor, but there is no room in this script for him to do anything; he doesn’t interact with interesting characters, solve any kind of conflict, or show any range of emotion… again, he just walks around, looks paranoid, occasionally defends himself, and delivers only a few lines of dialogue during the entire film! And if you thought a good story might save this failed Clooney character; think again; instead of explaining what is going on, all the story does is generate more questions. It is never revealed whether Jack is an assassin or a gunsmith, who he works for, who is chasing him, or why he is being chased; the audience is left to make assumptions about Jack’s past to try and fill in the plot holes; and even with the most imaginative guesses, the end-result is still shockingly boring.
Before The American was released, I would have declared The Last Airbender the worst film of the summer, but now, not only has George Clooney saved M. Night Shyamalan from receiving that dubious honor, he also has a contender for the worst movie ever made. Think of the worst movie you have ever seen…if it had any kind of story or was able to hold your attention for more than 30-seconds, I guarantee that it’s still better than The American. In my wildest dreams, I cannot fathom how this travesty has a 61% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes or how any critic who gave The American a positive review can sleep at night. Don’t get me wrong, I like a good drama film and can be forgiving if it get’s boring from time to time, but when there is no story, dialogue, or acting for that matter, then that film is beyond redemption. Even the attempted romance between Jack and local prostitute felt forced and awkward. The American could have been about a spy/assassin trying to lead a normal life while being haunted by his past, but when the audience is given no indication of that character’s past, then there is nothing left to hold anyone’s attention. On top of all that, the production crew also chose the most boring areas of Italy to film…the setting wasn’t exotic, it was just depressing. If you think I’m being too critical, go see it yourself, and I defy you to find any redeeming qualities within The American.
When I saw the opening weekend numbers for The American, I was sure that I was going to be sick…my emotions could best be described as a mixture of nausea and rage. Granted, Clooney was opening against a Robert Rodriguez film and a Drew Barrymore romantic comedy, so competition wasn’t that stiff, but it just isn’t fair that a piece of crap like this made any kind of money, let alone nearly $17 million. Through it’s close to recovering its production budget, I’m hoping that word of mouth from audience members will drown out those Clooney ass-kissing critics and prevent anyone else from seeing this piece of trash. I’ll put it to you this way, when I was in the theater, when the end credits began to roll, all I heard from the rest of the audience were boos and profanity. George Clooney, your star-status and track-record will help you survive this disaster, but still, what in the hell were you thinking? Short of going to theaters and pulling fire alarms to stop people from sitting down, I cannot emphasize it enough…DO NOT waste your time, dignity, money, or sanity, with The American!
Overall Recommendation: Very Low
