There are three reasons why Nobody is pure unadulterated joy—star Bob Odenkirk, director Ilya Naishuller, and screenwriter Derek Kolstad. The talented trifecta keenly knows what movie that they are making and never stray away from that lane that finds both creators and their actor cruising for a bruising. Thing is, it is Odenkirk’s Hutch Mansell that causes most of those contusions on anyone who is getting in his way on the path to justice.
With Nobody, Odenkirk has become the most unlikely of action stars. That opportunity largely came from his turn as Saul Goodman on Breaking Bad and the prequel series that arrived after, Better Call Saul. Prior to those two programs, the actor was largely known as a comedian, especially with his work alongside David Cross on Mr. Show. Now, it’s not like Odenkirk is kicking ass and taking names as Goodman. But that character changed the world’s perception as to what Odenkirk the actor was capable of believably achieving. So, it is a natural progression to see him leap from Emmy nominated TV star to a cinematic family man with a past that involved… well, kicking ass and taking names.
The role requires an everyman, especially one who refers to himself as a “Nobody,” who can flip that persona on a dime and become someone they once were—which is a highly trained assassin. As is learned over the course of Nobody, Hutch decided to leave “the life” behind, marry and have a couple of kiddos. There is a part of him that always knew that somehow, someway, his old life would catch up with him. Lucky for him, there are remnants of his old life he still possesses—i.e., guns, knives, and weapons of a wide variety.
There is a multitude of reasons why Nobody works so well. Yes, it is because of Odenkirk and what he does with the role, but we must also salute the action-packed and razor-sharp script from Kolstad. This is the guy who penned John Wick and its sequels, as well as the new Disney+ series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and is now the creative brainchild of Hutch Mansell. Kolstad does something incredible with this character and that has millions who will view his story just accept the fact that in another life Mansell was capable of taking on 15 baddies solo and still having the breathing capacity for pitch-perfect and never eye-rolling quips.
There is merely a tad of exposition about Mansell’s past, especially when it accompanies the why he walked away from a vocation that was highly risky, paid extremely well, and one where he was one of the best. That reason he turned his back on that life… it’s you’ll want to give this guy a hug worthy! Kolstad doesn’t waste valuable screen time explaining why Mansell is so mighty. We see it. After his home is robbed and he could have done something to stop it, but didn’t, our titular character goes on a soul-searching expedition that doesn’t end well for the child of a Russian mobster who was harassing an innocent woman on public transportation.
Hutch’s neighbor makes a comment after the home invasion, centered on, “if that was me, I would have…,”—you get the picture. After that, Mansell is never the same. Only a certain cadre of actors could play that average, everyday schlump of an individual who teaches you immediately not to judge books by their covers.
Odenkirk, thank goodness, is one of them.
John Wick, the first film, is very much the story about a hitman who retires for love and how that all goes out the window when his dog is killed. Nobody shares DNA with Wick, and there will be comparisons ad nauseum with those two films for a multitude of righteous issues. Nobody stands on its own. It’s an extremely different story when one breaks it down.
This film is as much about family as it is revenge and other action movie tropes. One’s clan is an important aspect on both sides of the Nobody coin. The collision course of these two men stems from one man trying to protect his and the other gentleman doing everything possible to not involve his family from this part of his life.
What’s so fascinating about the narrative that runs through Nobody is it is never clear whether Hutch’s wife Becca Mansell (Connie Nielson) knows about his past before their collective life changes after the home robbery. Kolstad keenly knows that the audience doesn’t need to know that fact. Actually, that element adds to the mystery that surrounds the entity that is Hutch Mansell. Nielson and their two kids—one’s a teenager, Blake (Gage Munroe), and the other is a daughter Abby (Paisley Cadorath), who is nine tops. It’s in the trailer, so this is no spoiler. But when good ‘ole dad puts you in a safe room you never knew you had and tells you to stay put until he gets back, I’m thinking a conversation about what daddy did before meeting mommy has not transpired.
That ups the ante as well. Action movies, in particular, it is about the stakes. When the stakes are higher, particularly if there is an emotional tether between viewers and players on the screen, audiences become vested and defeat is more painful, but justice is all the sweeter.
Speaking of relatives, Christopher Lloyd is sublime as Hutch’s dad. David Mansell. That guy, like Odenkirk, can do anything. His “awe shucks” personality produces a few surprises of his own! RZA is Harry Mansell and he too absolutely is aware of what exact film he is in and what his laser-sharp-defined role is too. Credit all around, but especially the actors and actresses, director Illy Naishuller and of course screenwriter Kolstad.
Naishuller gave us the wickedly original first-person shooter film Hardcore Harry back in 2015 and has grown immensely as a filmmaker since. It feels as if the helmer had Nobody shot and edited in his mind before he filmed a single sequence. He was so on top of the material, the milieu, the needs of his ensemble, and his command of the action sequences that I have a feeling that all involved will work together again, sooner than later.
Grade: A