Here are a few reasons why… One hint? Glen Powell smolders. You’re welcome.
On opening night of the 2023 Marrakech International Film Festival, attendees were treated to a gem, one of those pleasant surprises that bring the magic into an evening. It was wonderful of course to meet the Competition jury, headed by Jessica Chastain, and hear the opening speeches, but the real treat for the night was a screening of Richard Linklater’s latest film Hit Man, starring Glen Powell (who also shares co-writing credits on the film), Adria Arjona and an ensemble cast of great characters. The film world premiered in Venice and then went on to screen at the Toronto International Film Festival, before being acquired by Netflix and exploding as the understated hit of the fall festival circuit.
Good thing that Netflix got involved, as they understand perfectly the strategy needed to make Hit Man the all around hit it deserves to be. It is a film that is fun, sexy, a thriller at heart but also doesn’t take itself and its characters too seriously. Hit Man is a hit, and pardon the pun, but also a new step for Linklater, whom we know and love for films like Boyhood and the Before series (Sunrise, Sunset and Midnight). The American born filmmaker is our version of a French cineaste and Hit Man in that sense, is no exception. Substitute Jean Dujardin for Powell and you wouldn’t blink. Though after watching Hit Man I’ve suddenly developed an eye for Powell, who is both a great actor and a good looking leading man.
One of the perks of being a Golden Globes voter is being privy to a few great press conferences and listening to Powell, along with Linklater, Arjona, Retta and Sanjay Rao was a real surprise.
Hit Man is a dark thriller. What you see on the screen isn’t necessarily what is true and there are a few twists and turns that create a spellbinding film, one you can’t look away from and which is best savored on the big screen. Yet the film is also one you’ll want to watch a few times, to go back and try to find the hints of things to come. So streaming the second viewing on Netflix is simply perfect.
The story the film is based on is an adaptation of a Texas Monthly story by Skip Hollandsworth, which is why the film’s big release premiere was held in Austin, Texas.
Strait-laced professor Gary Johnson (Powell) moonlights as a fake hit man for the New Orleans Police Department. Sporting different looks each time, he manages to catch people wanting to off someone they know (or loved) with the help of his colleagues in the NOPD. But one day, he meets one of these potential criminals, a beautiful young woman named Madison (Arjona) and finds himself attracted to her. And sympathetic to her cause. But are they each who they seem to be? We know Ron, Johnson’s sexy, mysterious alter ego as a hit man is made up… So is Madison hiding a secret as well? You’ll have to watch to find out — and be prepared to laugh and feel all along the way.
Powell talks about the discovery of the story during the pandemic, when he “stumbled upon, you know, this article in Texas Monthly called ‘Hit Man’ by Skip Hollingsworth. And immediately, it was so clear there was such a compelling character there.” He explains further, “I mean, if you look at the real life Gary Johnson, he was a psychology professor who actually moonlighted with the police department, did AV equipment, was a ornithologist, you know, Zen Buddhist.” Though Powell didn’t know where the character would know, this “a Laurence Olivier fake hitman [who] approached the job differently,” appealed to him.
At that point, Powell got Linklater involved, “I called up Rick and I said, you know, I just read this amazing article called 'Hit Man’. And Rick took a beat… and he said yeah, I read that article when you were in seventh grade,” the group laughs. Linklater adds, dryly “I think I might've said you were in diapers.” The American auteur admits that he was “excited to get this call from Glen because that story had been kicking around in my head. I had talked to Skip, I had had a couple meetings on it over the years, but it didn't really work.” Why not? “It didn't really work as a film because there was this repetition, it didn't really go anywhere.” The pandemic helped the duo redefine the story, to where, as the director recalls “Glen kind of loosened the log jam I was in,” meaning Powell allowed for a deviation from the facts. Linklater was like “you can do that?" This adjustment allowed for the floodgates to open,” as Linklater admits and “we were off to the races, we just started having these great ideas. And you know, the last two thirds of the movie kind of comes out of that.” That’s when the story hits a narrative high and takes the audience on a rollercoaster ride that is not easily forgotten.
For Arjona, being part of a Linklater film was a dream. “He really is one of my favorite filmmakers,” she admits candidly. “And I always aspired to be sort of an actress, like an actress in one of Rick's movies.” Why? “It always feels like his characters are saying words for the first time and it feels so fresh,” she says, “and I always just found it so beautifully crafted. So when I got on a Zoom with him, I was pretty nervous 'cause all I wanted to do was just to work with him.” And work with him she did. Arjona taps into Madison’s vulnerability, but also gets wholeheartedly the femme fatale aspect that is needed to sell her part. Or, as Arjona describes it best, “a woman trying to play the illusion of a femme fatale.”
Although the feeling that Retta would be cast as Claudette, the police officer Gary Johnson works for, was immediate for both Powell and Linklater, someone forgot to tell the actress and stand up comedian that. When Retta ran into Powell at a party, he told her how much fun they would have on the shoot. News to her of course. “I literally went home that night and texted my manager and I was like, did someone not email me to let me know that I booked this gig?” She continues, “anyway, but I know Glen from 10 years ago, we did a movie together. I know Rick from 20 years ago, we did a pilot together. So I know them, you know, personality wise, and I was like, oh, this is going to be a very calm environment.”
Sanjay Rao completes the team of police officers, in his role as Phil. “Rick told me, bring yourself to the role, have some fun, and that's really what I tried to do,” he says about his character. “I think our comedy experience helped in being able to find how we were funny and how we were funny together our dynamic and how we talked to each other, how we relate to each other — and kind of this like one upping of jokes kind of.”
Powell credits Retta for the smooth sailings of the plot, which in a crime thriller can be tricky. “I'll just say Retta has a superpower — I think she's watched every true crime documentary ever,” the actor, co-producer and co-writer of Hit Man says. “And [she] became a weapon of fact checking and poking holes in our plot. So I really do owe a lot to [Retta] because we have a bulletproof plot.” As she chimes back, “I like to problem solve,” Linklater quips back, “Making movies is problem solving.”
And that folks, are the famous last words, from our American Maestro himself.
Watch Hit Man in theaters starting May 24th and on Netflix starting June 7th.
All images courtesy of Netflix, used with permission.