The American

Watching The American was a transporting experience for me. I felt like I was a film from the 1970's. A time in cinema when directors, particularly European directors were busy crafting stories about human subjects with great focus and detail. Every little event in that person's life was given time on screen in order to present a character fully fleshed out. Which is exactly what happens here with Clooney. He plays a gun for hire who is constantly paranoid and rightfully so. He's also a man with a code and a strict daily routine that he constantly follows in order to stay sharp and probably alive. It's inn director Anton Corbjin focused attention to this daily routine that allows the film to achieve moments of such heightened tension that the most mundane act of sipping a cup of coffee over breakfast can be transformed into a moment of life and death. Its another fine performance from George Clooney and a film that should establish Corbjin as a director to watch out for. One of the best films of the year and the work of a true craftsman. 

A

2010