The Matador (24 September 2005)
directed by Richard Shepard
starring Pierce Brosnan, Greg Kinnear, Hope Davis, Adam Scott, Portia Dawson, Roberto Sosa, Philip Baker Hall, Jonah Meyerson, Dylan Baker, William Raymond
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MPAA rating: Studio: Stratus Film Co., Furst Films, Irish DreamTime, DEJ Productions, Yari Film Group Script: Richard Shepard Music: Rofle Kent Running time: 96 minutes Tags: assassination; bull fighting; Comedy; Drama; margaritas; murder; rifles Tactical strength: [5/10]
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for strong sexual content and language
I have liked Pierce Brosnan ever since the TV series "Remington Steele." I don't think the James Bond movies were his best work, but I couldn't blame him for taking a high-paying role for which he still probably receives hefty residual payments. Somehow I missed seeing The Matador in theaters, but I watched the DVD and think that Brosnan does some of his best acting ever in this film. Brosnan plays Julian Noble, a professional hit man losing his touch for the business. Brosnan displays an incredible dynamic range as he takes Julian's character from a cold, cool professional to a whimpering has-been. In spite of Brosnan's excellent performance, I found The Matador falling short on several levels.
While on a job in Mexico, Julian meets Danny Wright (Greg Kinnear), a salesman making a pitch for his unnamed product. In a weird way, Julian and Danny become friends, and they take in the Sunday bull fights. Like all businessmen, Danny asks about Julian's profession, and Julian, with barely any reluctance, tells Danny. Joking, Danny chooses a man from the stands and asks Julian, "How would you kill him?" and Julian walks Danny through all the preparations for killing the random man. This experience creates a bond between the two men, and Julian tries to recruit Danny for help in an upcoming hit. Danny refuses, and the last we see, a drunk Julian bangs on Danny's hotel door at three in the morning, and Danny never answers.
Six months later, Julian has botched a couple hits, and his boss wants him dead. He appears one night on Danny's doorstep. Danny has an open relationship with his wife Bean (Hope Davis), so she knows all about Julian. Julian tells stories for most of the evening while everyone gets drunk. Late into the evening, Julian pulls Danny aside and asks Danny to help him with one last job. With this one last job, Julian can make amends with his boss and retire. "And besides," Julian says, "You owe me."
--- S p o i l e r A l e r t ---
To discuss why I think The Matador falls short, I have to discuss the ending, so spoilers follow. Through a flashback, we learn that Danny did open the hotel door for Julian, and that Danny asked Julian to murder his competition for the sale in Mexico. So with this flashback, we understand why Danny owes Julian, otherwise we wouldn't believe that Danny would help Julian with a hit. So in total contrast to general movie morals, Danny has had his competition eliminated by a professional hit man and has gone on to live a happy and prosperous life without any remorse or consequences. The Matador implies that corporate hits happen all the time, and Danny even says that all successful people must have some blood on their hands.
When a movie kills someone, the script usually goes a long way to show the audience why that character deserves to die. In this case, the Mexican vendor that Danny has killed dies to serve Danny's selfish needs, and Danny pays no consequences except for the one day of stress when he helps Julian with the last hit. Although I hate to say that I align myself with popular movie morals, I do agree that killing people usually requires some sort of justification. We clearly see that Danny feels no remorse for the killing, and his business has profited from the Mexican deal. The unjustified killing of an unnamed individual really goes contrary to Danny's character, and the revelation of the killing shifts the plot of the movie off otherwise solid footing. This revelation means that we have just watched a buddy movie about two characters who agree to the killing of unknown individuals: Julian kills for pay, Danny has people killed for personal profit. In spite of the excellent acting of the parts, I cannot agree with the moral message of this film -- that one can benefit from the killing of other people.
The script also never commits to either dark or goofy comedy. It seems to want to carry a dark atmosphere, but doesn't engage in enough dark humor. It also occasionally steps into the realm of goofy comedy, but doesn't commit to complete silliness. In this sense, the film presents an immoral drama with occasional humor that doesn't seem comfortable committing to one type of film or another.
