Sunday, July 23, 2006

Matador


This movie hit me right between the eyes! I may be succumbing to the "action comedy" genre, something I would look forward to if they were all this good. I would hazard the hypothesis that this is due in part to the script, coupled with 2 good leading men.
Pierce Brosnan ups the smarm factor from "Tailor in Panama" and lives the role. Kinnear is an unheralded treasure that continues to rack up solid performances, after "As Good as It Gets" and "Auto-Focus". I am struggling here, looking for the sentence that will make you want to watch this, without just telling you that the high concept plot works --Brosnan as an aging dandy Assassin with heavy gravity sucking Kinnear across the event horizon.
There is some cynicism here, some pathos, but no winks to the fourth wall, these guys play it straight. Minor characters are drawn in short strokes, with costumes, haircuts and architectural notes dead on. This reality is tweaked and surreal and easily recognizable. There are oodles of nicely composed shots, montages and of course a Bullfight!

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