Strong and Moving!

Simply A Masterpiece

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Absolutely Fantastic

When you watch a movie like this or Dangerous Liaisons, you just wonder why Stephen Frears doesn't do more movies like this. The Hit is a road trip film through the beautiful and sparsely inhabited Spanish countryside with some offbeat humor and too-deep philosophy, delivered mostly by Terrance Stamp. It's not fast paced and it has long periods where there's little dialog even. However, it's timing is impeccable and Stamp, Hurt and Roth all give great performances. Essentially, I think it shows off Frears' talent much more than most of his recent arthouse movies.The ratings for this movie are all over the place, which suggests that it's not for everyone. So, who is it for? Shallow philosophers who like just a very little bit of violence and gore, a plot that's not hard to follow, and great actors/actresses who have 2 hours to watch the movie through in one sitting.

There are various ways to describe the British film "The Hit". For many, it might be interpreted as a comedy film. Some viewers might think of it as a thriller film. There might also be viewers who might like to view it as a road movie. There could also be liberal views which could state that it is a fine as well as well balanced mix of all kinds of different genres. Making good use of picturesque locations found in Spain, director Stephen Frears has made a film about criminals and their desire to take revenge. It is at this juncture that viewers learn that a kidnapping and an act of killing have gone completely wrong. It is not only the British people in Spain who are ridiculed for the viewers. It is also the turn of Spanish side to face ridicule as its police force always comes to the scene of crime late. As a 'road movie' this film boasts of good views of rural Spain. Apart from fine performances by leading actor John Hurt, Terence Stamp and Tim Roth, there is a mellifluous soundtrack by Paco de Lucia. It is a good idea to popularize this film which is not so much known by many admirers of good quality British cinema in England and elsewhere.

A prime example of the old adage that less is more, Stephen Frears' The Hit starts off with a simple premise and builds from there with the use of well-developed, brilliantly acted characters. Willie Parker (Terence Stamp) is a gangster who sells his pals down the road in order to get off free, but ten years later one of those guys is out of prison and sends his men Braddock and Myron (John Hurt and Tim Roth) to go and collect Willie. All of this is taken care of within the first fifteen minutes and the film at large is the three of them on the road, driving from Spain to Paris in order to bring Willie to his inevitable fate. They're joined along the way by Maggie (Laura Del Sol), a young and exotic companion of an associate they cross paths with early on.It's a very simple idea, but the film succeeds so admirably in keeping the tension high between the three men, confining the action mostly to within the car or nearby it. Willie knows his fate and he doesn't try to escape it, so instead of the usual distractions of chases and struggles, we get to witness interactions between the three on their way to his fate. There's an existentialist journey the film takes us down, as Willie seems resigned to his death and doesn't try to fight it. This presents an interesting query to Braddock and especially Myron, curious as to why he seems so serene with death around the corner. Willie seems to enjoy himself on their trip, whereas Braddock is all business and just going about his job.John Hurt delivers a terrifying performance here, mostly hidden behind Braddock's sunglasses and really diving in to the character to send chills through the audience. The contrast between him and Stamp's self-reflective work is fascinating, especially when combined with the wildly energetic Roth. This was Tim Roth's first film and he explodes on the screen, a wild animal of pure energy, eating up every moment and running away with the entire picture. Much like Roth himself, Myron is on his first assignment and his reactions to the opposing nature of Braddock and Willie drive a lot of the resonating themes of the film. Del Sol provides an erotic, passionate rift in the group dynamic and of course it's the woman who ends up being the thing that gives them the most grief, rather than the man they are supposed to kill.Stephen Frears has long been a favorite director of mine and most of that is due to his versatility. He can go from this kind of hard, cool British pulp gangster movie to doing a wildly erotic period piece like Dangerous Liaisons as if it was any other job. He's one of the most diverse directors in the modern age, but he always manages to tackle his films with a deep precision. The Hit is yet another example of his skills as a director and, thanks in part to the excellent cast and script by Peter Prince, I'd say it's the best film of his career.

I can't believe that this film had gone for so long without me knowing it was around. I'm a big fan of the crime/drama genre so when I stumbled across the fact it was going to be on some free to air digital channel at about one in the morning a couple of months ago, I thought I'd give it ago. In fact, I'd never heard of it before nor have I since. No one seems to know of it and it's a damn shame as this is a VERY underrated film, especially surprising given the fact John Hurt, Terrance Stamp and Tim Roth are in it.The film deals with human interaction between a 'grass' from ten years back, a rookie gangster and an old-time gangster in almost superior form to many other films. The fact it takes a 'road movie' approach gives us more time to develop with the characters, as well as the characters themselves to do a bit of bonding. What follows is some fascinating dialogue between the three (and between a young Spanish girl on a lesser extent) and some very interesting relations building up. The stone cold presence from Hurt, the silent but 'you know he's up to something' Stamp and the, almost, 'comic relief' character in the form of Tim Roth all combine in a truly mesmerising mixture of events. I was glued to the screen.The narrative also takes on a mysterious, almost multi-layered approach when talking about the police hot on their tail. The fact we never hear the detectives talk or any of the police communicate leaves us with a sense that we know what's going on but we're not actually there, almost as if the three male characters in the car are dreaming up the scenes themselves as to what MIGHT be happening at their last point of call if the police had yet arrived.The action and dialogue is well spaced, even though the script is great anyway, and you truly struggle to work out what might happen next. The disturbing way in which Stamp seems to say nothing at all yet communicates with Roth like he's known him for years twinned with the fact panic hits him like a train later on in the film and he suddenly becomes a chatter box is an amazing juxtaposition which really adds to the experience.Another attractive aspect of the film is the setting. This also acts as a juxtaposition as the beauty and heat that oozes from the screen really counterbalances the disturbing reality that Hurt and Roth's characters are there to 'get' Stamp and make him pay for his previous actions as well as the sadistic interior that makes up Hurt's character. You can't get too caught up in the setting which you only really see when the journey is being killed off, and you know that with every second that rushes by on the road; Stamp is apparently closer to his death - clever stuff.The film is simple. The narrative is easy, there aren't too many characters to deal with, there aren't too many on screen distractions (unless you count the girl) meaning you have more reasons to focus on EXACTLY what's going on and although the film looks a little aged, I can guarantee it's thoroughly enjoyable.