The American - George Clooney

David Jimerson

David Jimerson

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Did not see an earlier thread.

Seemed overall to be what a Bond flick would be if done by an indy crew and director, including an "indy" take on the opening credits.

Not to say it was bad -- Clooney rarely makes a bad film -- just that it's an apt comparison.
 
I loved this movie. Among my top 10 for 2010, if not top 5. Not really sure why, but something about the quiet character focus of the film really gave me something to absorb from start to finish. It has one of the best openings to a movie I've seen recently, and had a great ending as well. I think my favorite part of the movie was when Clooney tells the prostitute, "You don't have to pretend with me. I'm here to get pleasure, not to give it." It really spoke volumes about the character in a subtle way.
 
David Jimerson said:
Did not see an earlier thread.

Seemed overall to be what a Bond flick would be if done by an indy crew and director, including an "indy" take on the opening credits.

Not to say it was bad -- Clooney rarely makes a bad film -- just that it's an apt comparison.
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I have to disagree. I found this film to be a beautiful example of visual film making. It had what most Bond flicks lack -- a script deeper than a layer of paint, and the patience and subtlety to make its point.

I agree with Mr. Traven -- this was also one of my favorite films of the year.
 
Bruce Watson said:
I have to disagree. I found this film to be a beautiful example of visual film making. It had what most Bond flicks lack -- a script deeper than a layer of paint, and the patience and subtlety to make its point.
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That's why I said it was a Bond movie that indy filmmakers would make.

But if you look at it, it follows the structure, subject matter, and arc of a Bond movie, to a T. It hits all the same beats; it just emphasizes different aspects of the story and does so more contemplatively.

It actually is rather reminiscent of an Ian Fleming novel.
 
I don't think it's unreasonable to compare it to a Bond movie. It's similar, actually. Handsome spy, sexy femme fatales, betrayal, deceit, mystery. I just think it's better. <grin>
 
It strained us to hold interest in it.

Started out so dramatically, and then it went to sleep at times. Or we did.

Liked Clooney and the story line was good, but it could have been edited better and shortened in our view.
 
I disagree. I actually thought the editing was pretty stellar. Yes, it was a slower movie, but I knew it would be going in, so I didn't have a problem with that.
 
The opening was actually shot here in my hometown.

They made a real hooplah about him coming here and you could read about it in the papers and hear people talk about it all year.

Then, in the film, they write clearly in the opening credits it was in another town that's three hours south by car.

The reason they stated when asked about this, was that it would take six hours for him to drive to Stockholm in real life and the story needed him to do it in three. So they changed the name of the town.

The fact that they didn't get any tax incentives had nothing at all to do with it. Really. Honest and cross their hearts.

I wouldn't have blamed them if it did though.
 
The film was okay. It was more like a tiny blip in the radar. There was really nothing memorable about it IMO.

It was slow, but I enjoy slow movies. It just didn't feel like it went anywhere worthwhile. It was just mediocre by the end of it.
 
Tommy K said:
Loved it... atmospheric and visually stunning (Violante Placido)... the scenery wasn't bad either.

The director Anton Corbijn was a still photographer and this was his first picture. He said that he wanted to bring his eye and skills with still compositions to the film, and he did this very well. This is the typical character driven European film that attention deficit Americans hate.
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Well it wasn't his first movie. He won a lot of awards for directing CONTROL in 2007, and he's been making music videos since the 80's.
 
Call me crazy, but I instantly got the feeling that The American was kind of like a more serious and contemplative live action take on Golgo 13.

g13_04.jpg
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japans-spring-anime-season-review-20080516045115924-000.jpg
 
Guess it's just me that didn't dig this one.

I quite literally don't remember the last time - before The American - I fell asleep during a film...
 
Why is this discussion in a specific film thread?

I was the only person in the theatre when I saw The American. I thought it was a little slow, but it wasn't bad overall. Nothing exceptional though - at least to me.

Kegan
 
OK, obviously it was a bad road to go down and now it's getting political, so I've excised the thread of things not related to the film itself.
 
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