Dir. Richard Shepherd, US/Germany/Ireland, 2005, 96 mins
Cast: Pierce Brosnan, Greg Kinnear, Hope Davis, Philip Baker Hall, Dylan Baker
Review by Peter Fraser
‘I’m a big fan of ‘the gotta pee’ theory of assassination’ says hit man Julian Noble as he shows his new buddy - family man Danny Wright - how to set up a kill. There’s a similar theory of film criticism: if you’re watching a film in its final third and you feel the urge to pee but don’t then the film has passed a threshold of quality.
The Matador is quite a good film and it gets better as it goes along. In something of a departure from his previous roles Pierce Brosnan plays Noble, an alcoholic mother-fixated bisexual assassin who is beset by a mid-life crisis. Working in Mexico City he meets Danny Wright, played by Greg Kinnear, who is struggling to make ends meet and keep his marriage together after the death of his son. The two form a bizarre friendship that changes them both as they become implicated in each other’s lives.
The film trades on the novelty of seeing Pierce Brosnan in such an outrageously camp role complete with crew cut and moustache, although this is neither quite as funny nor as new as the film thinks it is. Brosnan has sent up his Bond-image before, in The Tailor of Panama, and although he is far more pantomime here than elsewhere, he is nevertheless the man with the gun. Yet because Brosnan is so game there are moments here that stick in the mind and his performance is, on the whole, a success, ably assisted by Kinnear as his straight man.
Essentially a two-hander then, despite spanning four countries and an impressive supporting cast (Hope Davis, Philip Baker Hall and Dylan Baker), it succeeds on the strength of the rapport between its two central characters. From the very beginning, when Noble sticks around to watch his car bomb explode, we realise that credibility is not going to be a principal feature. That’s not to say that the film has no seriousness. Despite killing or shagging everything that walks, and turning the air blue to boot, Julian is ultimately the one to deliver a message so wholesome and sentimental that it seems to step straight out of a Disney film (as does the exoticism of the Mexico City locale).
It makes me wonder exactly who the film is intended for. Were it not for certain scenes, and the absence of children, The Matador would make superior family viewing. The writer-director Richard Shepherd has said that he wanted to ask the moral question ‘what would you do to save what you think is the most important thing in your life?’ It’s an interesting idea and makes for a nice twist at the end. After the awkward tone of some of the Mexico City scenes the film finds its feet six months later when Julian calls in a favour from Danny and when Bean Wright, the sentimental heart of the film, makes her appearance. Home is where the heart is and some times it takes a scoundrel to see the good in others. It’s a sentimental idea but if you want a feel good film that’s fun but not too demanding then The Matador is worth a look.
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Buena Vista Home Entertainment have announced the UK Region 2 DVD release of The Matador for 10th July 2006.
Extras include:
- The Making Of Feature
- Deleted Scenes
- Director Commentary
- Alternative Opening
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