Movie review: The Gunman
There is no denying that Democratic Republic of the Congo has seen a lot of pointless death. Rarely though would so many people have died for it, as pointlessly.
Directed by Pierre Morel
Starring Sean Penn, Javier Bardem, Ray Winstone, Jasmine Trinca
There is no denying that Democratic Republic of the Congo has seen a lot of pointless death. Rarely though would so many people have died for it, as pointlessly.
A project that appears more tailored to Penn’s ideological leanings — he is also a co-producer — the film is about a killer, a political assassination, some regrets, lots of deaths across two continents, a love story, and most improbably, the effects of head trauma. Penn is a party to all of the above.
In the beginning, there is Congo. Penn is Jim, a mercenary who pretends to be part of a private company offering security services for humanitarian efforts in the civil war-torn country, but who is more interested in the beautiful Anne (Trinca), who is part of this humanitarian effort. By the end, Jim has apparently had a change of heart regarding the first, though not the second. Only apparently.
In the beginning, Anne is a doctor. At least going by the fact that she is wielding a scalpel on a man lying before her. By the end, you are not so sure. All Anne contributes to the story is running around in fear, clinging to Jim in turns, and appearing in various states of undress. Oh yes, she does drive a car around in circles for “15 minutes” once — “four turns right”, he tells her, “then four turns left” — as Jim does his thing.
In the beginning, there is Javier Bardem, as Felix. He is the kind of dreamboat guy doing mysterious things in war zones whom girls like Anne don’t seem to notice. By the end, he is a jealous fool who can’t hold his drink even while he has raised an empire of presumably ill-gotten wealth. Still, he is about the only thing The Gunman has of interest.
In the beginning, Jim has blurred vision. That becomes headaches, vomiting, head trauma, and fatal chemical accumulation in the brain, without him skipping a beat, in chase of people “trying to kill” him. Jim believes it is because of that assassination in Congo all those years ago, but he never stops to ask the questions, and so The Gunman (directed by Morel, of Taken fame) races through London, Barcelona, Gibraltar, a water park and even bullracing.
In the beginning, there was Congo. Remember?
Source:: Indian Express
