If you’re looking forward to catching Richard Linklater’s latest film, Hit Man, here’s everything you need to know. The movie has created quite a buzz since its debut at the Venice and Toronto film festivals in 2023, leading Netflix to secure it for a reported $20 million.
A Fresh Take on the Genre-Mashup
Hit Man is not your typical rom-com or crime thriller. Directed with flair by Richard Linklater, it stands out as a smart, sensual, and character-driven blend of genres. Based on a true story, it presents an engaging mix of romance, comedy, and action. Glen Powell stars as Gary Johnson, a humdrum academic turned undercover agent who navigates the world by adopting multiple disguises. Here, Powell shows his versatility by playing several different characters, adding rich layers to the storyline.
The Evolution of Gary Johnson
Gary Johnson, initially seen as a nondescript college professor and tech guy, finds himself immersed in a web of undercover work. As he navigates through this intriguing double life, Powell reflects that the character allows him to channel joy through varied personas: I get to play a lot of different characters in this movie. It’s obviously for an actor, it’s the greatest joy to just show up and literally do what you do when you’re a kid, which is just put on costumes and accents and big teeth and play pretend
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The Chemistry with Adria Arjona
Joining Powell is Adria Arjona, portraying his love interest. Every day on set with her transformed the experience into something more captivating: I think the one that obviously is the wish fulfillment of the movie is Ron. When you get to act across from Adria Arjona every day, she seemed to be really into Ron
. This dynamic adds depth to their interactions and enriches the narrative.
From Script to Screen
Interestingly, Powell did not get a chance to showcase his many characters to Linklater or the crew before filming began: I never got a chance to show it to Rick [Richard Linklater, director] or the crew before I got to perform them. So it was always a fun day because that always felt like I was getting to do a show and tell day for the crew on all those characters
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