"The American"

George Clooney is "The American" (Image courtesy of Focus Features)

(USA, 2010, 103 mins)

"The American" is a weaker film than the sum of its parts.  It has a bonafide leading man, with a good track record. It has a stunningly beautiful female lead who is refreshingly new on the American scene and it has an edgy and hip director who has made mind-numbingly amazing music videos for the likes of U2, Depeche Mode and Nirvana.

Alas, the only thing missing from "The American" is an actual story.  Not even a visually satisfying opening scene, an understatedly awesome assassination gone bad, nor gratuitous nudity and sex scenes could save "The American" from itself (though it valiantly employs said tactics anyway). 

George Clooney is Jack the American. If that description leaves a lot to the imagination, well, apparently that was the point. The audience is left to fill in the blanks of whether he’s an assassin, CIA spook, or just a cold, blood-thirsty bastard. 

Clooney’s run of quality projects, skill as an actor and the tension built-in to his look give The American a head start at being a quality flick.  He single-handedly builds up suspense and keeps the audience on the edge of their seats begging for more.  Regretfully, suspense is all that viewers can expect.  Thrillers usually are courteous enough to provide thrills…not "The American".

The film wastes a great opening scene, where Clooney’s viciousness is on full display and never really establishes any type of plot to speak of.  Audiences oooh and ahhh in the first five minutes and then wait in vein like junkies for the stimulating feeling of the opening scene to be repeated.

However, every cloud has a silver lining.

The one and only revelation in "The American" is Clara, played by the ravishing Violante Placido.  The Italian singer-actress is disturbingly hot and serves as an oasis in the desert that is "The American".  Playing the stereotypical role of the prostitute with a heart of gold, a role that is often successfully done in American cinema, she emanates a class and dignity as Clara that makes the audience desperately want to believe that she is a prostitute solely to make ends meet. 

When she falls for Jack and vice versa, the relationship gives the viewers false hope that the film is actually going somewhere.  Her beauty and enchantment abound and her presence grabs a hold of viewers, never letting go.  In the end, her presence is the only reason that the entire audience doesn’t get up at the 60 minute mark and demand a refund from the box office.

Director Anton Corbijn is a breathtaking maker of music videos, but not full feature films.  His skill at capturing the stunning European scenery is completely offset by his impotence as a visual storyteller.  His poor execution is evident in the first 15 minutes, when multiple scenes awkwardly fade into and out of black, instead of seamlessly blending together.

Whether done on purpose or not is absolutely irrelevant.  The scenes, and "The American" as a whole, simply do not work.

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