Heads Up: The American (2010)

            

            George Clooney is one of the biggest names in Hollywood and his films always draw buzz.  Still for being such a huge super star he tends to be in quality films for the most part, which I think deserves credit.  I recently watched “The American” which for whatever reason didn’t seem to get all that much talk (maybe I just missed it).  It deserves talk though.  I think that “The American” is in many ways a modern classic, and I hope it endures to be regarded as such as time goes on.

            The plot follows a paranoid American named either Jack, Edward or “Mr. Butterfly,” played by Mr. Clooney, who builds and sells guns on the black market, but is trying to get away from his violent past.  The film kicks off with an incredible opening scene and as the movie progresses with its little dialogue and minimalistic story telling the tension rarely lets up.  The film is really modern noir masterpiece.  It is a story of mixed morality, questionable loyalty, and sparsely scattered but intense shoot outs.  The entire film is beautifully shot, with each composition and camera move being carefully selected and set up.  The locations, too, are wonderfully chosen.  The film opens in Sweden with crisp black trees against the stark white snow, and the rest of the film takes place in small towns in the mountains of Italy.  The town’s labyrinthine alleys and stairs and doors create a fascinating environment for a twisted tale to unfold.  This is the time I feel to mention that if you have the option of watching the movie in high definition, take it.  The beautiful compositions and locations are full of rich texture and the crisp resolution of a blu-ray really brings these out.  It is a movie that reminds me the difference high definition makes.

            In this movie we really get inside the head of Clooney’s character, both through his performance and through the cinematography.  There are very few characters, and aside from them there are also very few extra’s in most of the scenes.  It is filmed in a way that makes the audience suspicious of every other person on screen, each passerby being a potential threat.  Scenes take their time and linger on open spaces, making every second tense, making us worry about what is out there, or who that person in the café is working for.  It’s really great the way camera work and staging are used to really force the audience to see the world through “Jack’s” paranoid eyes.  Music was done by Herbert Grönemeyer, which is weird.  Grönemeyer is sort of like the German version of Phil Colins, but even lamer.  Somehow, though, he turns in a terrific score that is very under spoken but beautiful.

            I do think a couple weak points keep the movie from really soaring.  With so few characters, every relationship is very important, and I think Jack’s relationship with the local priest is both a little hackneyed and stereotypical, and also not particularly well written.  The relationship holds a key spot in the narrative, but most of the scenes between the two characters tend to drag, and throw off the rhythm of the rest of the film.  There is also a symbolic butterfly motif surrounding Jack (or Mr. Butterfly) that I really like.  I like all of the references to the motif, except for the butterfly tattoo that he has, which I find a bit silly.

            The main featurette that came on the blu-ray I watched discussed at some length how the film was made partially as an homage to Sergio Leone and the spaghetti western mode.  Aspects of this are clear, but I see it as much more of a noir than a western.  Part of me tends to count that against the film in a way, because I don’t feel the film makers succeeded in doing what they set out to do.  Still when I just watch the film on its own terms, rather than through the lens of film maker intention, it is an impeccably crafted piece of story telling. 

            I really do think this film is in a lot of ways a triumph.  It tells the story of a man fruitlessly seeking redemption from his sordid criminal past.  It is a well paced and exciting story.  Cinematography is consistently breathtakingly beautiful.  Acting is generally quite good, with Clooney in top form turning in a very dark and brooding performance as the title character.  The film evokes a lot of the best aspects of classic noir films that have come to be regarded as among the best films ever made, and I think that with time this film, too, deserves to be studied and regarded as a classic.