You would be forgiven for not knowing the name “Gary Johnson”, at least in the context of the philosophy professor who spent years of his life working as a part-time mole for the New Orleans police force, masquerading as a hit man as a means to get prospective murder-for-hire suspects arrested for their efforts to have their enemies killed, which he did for quite a while before retiring from what was a dangerous business, albeit one that saved many lives. The fact that his name is not well-known at all is perhaps the most appropriate way for his legacy to settle, since he spent years trying to obscure his identity behind disguises and pseudonyms as part of his line of work, his greatest gift being his ability to disappear into these various characters that were non-descript enough to allow him to spend years working undercover without ever being caught. Despite being relatively obscure, his story was recently covered in an article by Skip Hollandsworth, which outlined his career and the lengths to which he went to commit to this sometimes perilous line of work, and which caught the attention of Richard Linklater, who crafted a film around the fascinating story, which took the form of Hit Man, one of the esteemed director’s most captivating films to date. Set in the present day (rather than during the period where Johnson was at his peak), the film tells a mostly fictionalized version of his story, following his gradual development as one of the most gifted undercover agents on record, going in a number of different directions but mostly settling on a dramatized (and most likely entirely fabricated) story of a relationship he formed with one of his prospective targets, which takes quite a dark turn when she reveals herself to not be entirely who she said she was at the outset, leading to complications in our protagonists personal and professional life. As hilarious as it is deeply entertaining and oddly quite moving, Hit Man is a terrific comedy that knows how to handle slightly tricky material, forming it into a daring and provocative existential odyssey, something with which Linklater has an abundance of experience.

Linklater is an extremely versatile and gifted filmmaker who has consistently proven himself to be able to tell a wide range of stories, exploring fascinating subjects and oscillating between fictional characters and those drawn from reality. Some of his best work has been done within the latter, particularly because the real-life subjects around which he chooses to base his films are usually interesting enough that we struggle to comprehend that they are based on true stories. Few filmmakers of his generation have been so committed to the art of telling stories of oddballs and outcasts as much as Linklater, and Hit Man joins this growing canon of films in which the director challenges us to step into the lives of these unconventional individuals, telling their stories in a manner that is both wickedly entertaining and profoundly captivating. The previous collaboration between Linklater and Hollandsworth was over a decade ago, when the latter wrote the screenplay for Bernie, a similarly stranger-than-fiction account of another peculiar individual and his controversial life that stirred a lot of interest in the director. Arguably, Gary Johnson is a very different kind of character, but his story does lend itself to a comparable amount of subversive humour. To fully understand the appeal, we have to look at the philosophy of the film – Linklater has deviated from being an entirely populist director by finding the right balance between crowd-pleasing genre films and those that are filled to the brim with unconventional observations on existence and the human condition as a whole. A film like Hit Man easily combines the two, and uses the protagonist, whose status as a well-liked but mostly unremarkable philosophy professor, as a way of interrogating themes of morality and ethics, which is not nearly as odd of a fit for this material as we would expect, especially when much of the discussion begins to veer towards looking at very pertinent existential themes that are mostly compatible with the majority of the ideas presented throughout the film, especially those relating to the very narrow boundary between doing something for the benefit of society, and the eventual descent into becoming the exact kind of person you have spent your professional career preaching against. Its not Linklater’s most profound film, but it has a wit and intelligence that is incredibly endearing, which elevates the entire premise.

One of Linklater’s most appealing qualities as a director is his tendency to work with a wide range of actors, and whether it is collaborating with a seasoned veteran for the first time, or drawing from his seemingly endless coterie of regular actors, he is always able to extract exceptional performances from his cast. He also tends to fixate on certain actors, creating a very strong working relationship with the ones in which he sees a lot of potential, which is precisely why we can credit him with the discovery of several excellent actors, or at least elevating their profile considerably. Hit Man features another reunion with Glen Powell, after he had previously worked with the director on Everybody Wants Some!! (which may be his greatest film when all is said and done, a controversial opinion but one that is starting to become more plausible as time goes on), and the little-seen delight that was Apollo 10 1⁄2: A Space Age Childhood – and in both films, Powell had significant parts, but was essentially just part of an ensemble. This is not the case with Hit Man, which places the actor front-and-centre, being designed as a starring vehicle for someone with whom the director enjoys working. Needless to say, there is a reason why Powell has skyrocketed in popularity in recent years, since he is not only relentlessly charismatic in a way that evokes both the classic icons of the Golden Age of Hollywood as well as contemporary movie stars, but he is also genuinely talented. Hit Man is a film in which Powell is given the chance to prove that he has superb range – most of his previous roles were riffing on his dashing good looks and wisecracking persona, but rarely was he able to stretch himself as an actor, and while a complete departure would have been risky, casting him as a college professor who moonlights as an amateur hit man is an ingenious way of allowing him to show his range. He takes on many different personas (and he is shockingly chameleonic – there’s points in this film where we can’t believe it is Powell beneath those disguises, which are usually quite simple, and the change in character is mostly due to his acting talents), and proves his undeniable skillfulness. He is paired with Adria Arjona, who has been circling around the mainstream for a while, and finally gets a part that shows her impeccable gifts as well. The two have tremendous chemistry, and while Arjona is not in as much of the film as we may like, she leaves such a strong impression, we can’t imagine the film without her. Based on both their performances in Hit Man, it would be genuinely surprising if the two leads don’t immediately rise in stature, since their performances are simply extraordinary and lay the foundation for a truly compelling comedy.

The key to crafting a memorable comedy, regardless of the specific category in which it exists, is an attention to detail and finding the right balance between elements. The chemistry between Powell and Arjona is incredible, but its only effective if the rest of the film that surrounds them has something valuable to say, both in terms of the narrative and its realization. The intial reports that Hit Man was a contemporary screwball comedy (a term that is used far too liberally, and very rarely is accurately used as a descriptor for many modern films) were actually proven to be somewhat correct – the film does play like a classic entry into the genre, with the rapid-fire dialogue and unquestionable chemistry between its leads being undercut by a social message and a sense of off-the-wall chaos that makes it both wickedly entertaining and genuinely compelling, in a way that we don’t often find in contemporary romantic comedies. Many moving parts went into the creation of Hit Man, but the director’s primary aim was to make a film that had all of its ideas well-represented and explored appropriately, which is the reason it plays like a much smarter version of films that we have seen produced for many years, but rarely with this amount of complexity lingering behind the proceedings. In addition to working from the article by Hollandsworth, Linklater also collaborated with Powell on the screenplay, which not only continued the director’s trend of working very closely with his actors to give them agency in how the stories are told, but also tailors the script to fit Powell’s gifts and perspective, and we find that this approach only elevates the film further, developing it into a much more intriguing and captivating affair. The writing is sharp and precise, and it oscillates between brilliantly subversive in the moments where it explores the underlying philosophical quandaries, and outrageously funny in the more wacky, off-kilter moments – and both are absolutely essential to the intentions of the film, one not being able to exist without the other, which is proof that a comedy can be both intelligent and outlandish with the right amount of preparation and dedication to the material.

As much as we can wax poetic about Linklater’s intelligence and the aptitude he shows for philosophically profound stories that are both insightful and funny, we also can’t neglect to mention that he’s also a phenomenal visual stylist, and even beyond the tone his films tend to take, the directorial approach is often quite incredible. Hit Man already had a great script and excellent performances, but what truly brings it together is the stylish direction, which is indicative of Linklater’s ability to weave a truly compelling story together through both the conceptual components and the visual channel. The film plays like a delightful amalgamation of a number of genres, blending together romantic comedy, fast-paced action and crime drama to create a very unique assemblage of ideas, which are all executed beautifully and with such incredible complexity. Linklater’s approach has always been to immerse himself deeply in the genres that inspired him, crafting his work around the films and directors that inspired him. At a cursory glance, Hit Man doesn’t seem to have a particularly noteworthy visual style, with the mostly unfurnished, straightforward style misleading us into thinking it is going to be a conventional film. The opposite is actually true, since despite its very simple appearance, there is a unique flair to how the director constructs the film, with much of the brilliance being contained in the smaller, more subtle elements. The film moves at an cutthroat pace (we don’t even notice that it is bordering on two hours), and the tribute the director pays to the various genres that inspired him manifests in a stylish, alluring romantic comedy that is as enticing as it is wildly entertaining, and it takes quite a bit of skill to execute something like this in such a way that it feels so remarkably concise, but also never leaving us desiring more, instead finding the perfect balance between the two and seamlessly toggling between genres, both in the more obvious elements as well as the subtle cues, which is an incredible skill within itself, albeit not one that is often discussed as being indicative of great filmmaking, despite it being the foundation of Linklater’s entire career right from the start.

A hilarious, irreverent dark comedy with a strong directorial vision and a genuine sense of affection for its subject, it is hardly surprising that Hit Man has been cited as being one of Linklater’s most endearing projects of recent years. On the surface, it seems relatively conventional, and without the name attached behind the camera, you could easily mistake it for just another run-of-the-mill action comedies that blurs romance and tension to create something entertaining. Even if this film had been restricted to these elements, it is well-crafted enough to still be exceptionally successful, but its how it develops on these ideas and infuses them with layers of intelligence that make the most significant difference. Linklater is a director who consistently is reinventing himself – one simply has to look at whatever projects he has in the pipeline to understand his ingenuity (his next film is a tribute to the French New Wave, and he continues to work on his ambitious multi-decade adaptation of Stephen Sondheim’s Merrily We Roll Along, and whatever he makes in the interim is doubtlessly going to be astonishing), and realize that he is a director that should not be taken for granted. The ease with which he can slip into various genres, coupled with his exceptional writing skills and ability to draw out the best work from nearly every actor with whom he collaborates is all very clear proof towards his excellent skills behind the camera, and a tremendous sign that he is one of our most exceptional directors. Hit Man seems simple, but the impact comes in realizing that it contains more depth than even the most didactic and dense of academic texts – few films in recent years have been able to explore morality and existential dread quite this brilliantly, and to be able to do so in a way that is so incredibly entertaining and invigorating is only an additional surprise, contained in a film that is filled with them. Hilarious, heartfelt and genuinely complex in how it addresses certain ideas, Linklater’s work here is absolutely impeccable, and Hit Man remains one of his most fascinating projects, and one that only supports his status as one of the most original and exciting voices in contemporary cinema.