THE VIRTUOSO | FILM REVIEW
Dir: Nick Stagliano (15, 105 mins)
A slow-burn hitman drama with ample voiceover that riffs on formula but ultimately does not fully convince. Anson Mount, upcoming Star Trek TV captain and very square of jaw, is the virtuoso, a man hired by shady boss Anthony Hopkins to take out people with impunity. Sometimes this involves collateral damage, but he can apparently live with that, until a job goes wrong and sets ablaze an innocent woman and child.
His cold-eyed detachment crumbling, he goes out on another mission, finding the mysterious White Rivers in a backwoods town. No one knows who this ‘White Rivers’ is, so Mount has to do some investigating before murdering – encountering waitress Abbie Cornish, deputy David Morse, Eddie Marsan’s loner and an apparent couple. Who is the target?
A sort of chamber piece with few actors but far too much rumination, Mount is given to voiceover: constantly telling us how he has to plan everything methodically, be ruthless, disconnected, disassociating himself from his violent acts. It’s all very intense and moody. Hopkins is great as ever with what little he has to do, making one very long speech better than it is thanks to his charisma; otherwise, he mostly answers a phone whilst sat in a chair. For all its moodiness, The Virtuoso’s twists and turns are easy to spot, and for a virtuoso, Mount seems to be quite bad at his job, whilst his movie trailer voiceover occasionally amuses due to its booming sincerity. Marsan is wasted in a cameo, as is the great Morse – given little to do amidst the scripts’ machinations, which also occasionally stretch credulity. A well shot, diverting but po-faced thriller which perhaps cares more about its leading character than an audience does.
Released via digital download on Fri 30 Apr; DVD Mon 10 May
words KEIRON SELF photos LANCE SKUNDRICH