“Interview With a Hitman”
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The framework for the movie is a man being filmed, while telling the story of his life as an assassin to a filmmaker, who is trying to revive his career. This is the story of Viktor. From the slums of Romania to London, England, his tale is full of violence, death, betrayal, love, and ultimately having to face the consequences of his past choices and actions.
Luke Goss did an outstanding job as a stone-cold assassin in this low budget, British, action/thriller. Most of what I’ve seen of his work, thus far, is action flicks (Death Race 2 & 3, Blade 2, Hellboy 2, The Dead Undead) and he doesn’t disappoint. Elliot Green, as young Viktor, was truly amazing as a youthful version of our sociopathic protagonist. He convincingly expressed so much simply with body language, something I’ve watched adults unable to aptly convey. Danny Midwinter’s performance as Sergei, Viktor’s mentor, made the character come to life. Where Goss had to keep a cold, nearly emotionless presence, Midwinter’s Sergei was full of anger, sadness, greed, pride, (and however sick and twisted) happiness. Also worth mentioning for their performances, Patrick Lyster, as Xavier, the interviewer with a secret, and Stephen Marcus, as Traffikant, the boss who’ll do whatever he must to protect his son.
There is much to praise about first time writer, director, producer, Perry Bhandal’s film. The writing is mostly solid and the film is beautifully shot, with a few very memorable scenes. The title character and his mentor are charismatic, the supporting cast is engaging. There were some issues with sound, mostly during the “interview” scenes, which took me out of the movie, but that may have been intentional. When the love interest, Bethesda, is introduced marks where I begin to have issues with the actual story. It follows logically that Viktor is ready for a life change, based on how the story has progressed. Once Bethesda enters the story, much of Viktor’s life with her is either glossed over or glimpsed in flashback form, too many flashbacks for my taste.
Although this isn’t my usual preference in film, it’s a bit serious and more urban drama than I typically like, I did enjoy it. I gave this 2 1/2 glasses of wine.
1/2
