The Matador

'The Matador slays me!'

I saw this film a while back in theaters and I liked it then but I never got around to reviewing it. But since I watched it again recently, with a pack of seminarians which is really amusing, I decided to do it justice and help spread the good word.

First off, this film is such a black comedy that you might look into it and find yourself pondering Nietzsche and suicide at the same time. Don't get me wrong, it will make you laugh through puberty but it is dark comedy as any comedy about a hitman going though a midlife crisis should be. But with that said, it's nowhere near as dark as say, The Royal Tenenbaums which I found so dark that it was more of a tragedy than a comedy to me. The Matador is about a hitman named Julian who hits a midlife crisis and finds his work much harder to accomplish. He reaches out to try and make a friend. Some things happen. He botches a few jobs and suddenly he's next in line to be killed. The movie is a great exploration of what friendship means and how those around you who care for you will help you no matter how unsavory you are or the deed to be done. It's also a great exploration of the ideas of luck and how it is affected by mindset. These two big themes are explored in the travails of the two main characters as portrayed by Pierce Brosnan and Greg Kinnear.

Kinnear plays a down on his luck businessman whose son was killed not long ago and to whom bad luck has followed ever since. He meets Julian, played by the most potty-mouthed Pierce Brosnan I've ever seen who is constantly wiggin out in ways you would never guess. (I love the line "I look like a Bangkok hooker on a Sunday morning, after the navy's left town." hehe.)The interaction between these two is priceless as Julian not only strives to make a connection to someone for once but seeks help to deal with his issues and problems. What is also nice is how the director, Richard Shepard fits in great shots revealing things about the characters. The shark in the swimming pool, the picture of Brosnan in the cross-hairs, even the Brosnan cheerleader are excellent surreal qualities of the film that help to accent the at times surreal and symbolic dialogue which reveal the more about the characters and true message of the film. I mean, yes, at times its a little too free and obvious in its allusions and symbolism, but the fact that it tries so hard can be nice as it helps others not as well versed in movie-dom to follow. Pierce does his best to forget Bond in this film and its obvious. He is fantastic and it is definately one of his better roles. Kinnear isn't annoying and actually is pretty amusing in this churn out of his aww shucks character. Plus his wife played by Hope Davis is hilarious! Especially when tipsy. This movie is a lot of fun and very funny. It has a similar vein to the DeVito dark comedies like Throw Mama from the Train except it is even darker but doesn't forget to use a light touch. Pierce's unsavory character is still somehow likable despite his constant lies and terrible treatment of others. Shepard hits a homerun dark comedy the likes of which has not been seen recently except in Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang, which was also an indie film that pretty much no one saw. I look forward to whatever Shepard does next and I might even drag myself out to rent Seraphim Falls after this redeeming Brosnan piece.

4.3 out of 5

Wannabe