Fresh from his “surprise” Oscar win for Best Actor for The Father, Anthony Hopkins stars in The Virtuoso—out in theaters and everywhere you can rent currently, and DVD and Blu-ray today, May 4. The thing is, as much as the two-time Oscar winner is in the thriller, the titular character is someone else.
That honor would go to Anson Mount, who portrays the hitman who possesses the most literally crafted moniker possible, The Virtuoso. Director Nick Stagliano (who also co-wrote the script with James C. Wolf) employs a heavy amount of voice-over by Mount. It is an effective (and efficient) mode of narrative enhancement. Near the beginning of the film, as he describes his process, Mount leads the viewer into that assessment that a killer-for-hire—who is successful (i.e., not dead or in jail)—is much like a gifted musician.
As Mount balances seriously stern and laser-focused gazes, while his voice-over describes his thoughts—or anything else we need to know—the actor illustrates frame-by-frame why Stagliano could not have chosen a better actor to embody and inhabit his titular character. From that first job through the hit that serves as the crux of our story, Mount is the highly trained and magnificently mentored (by Hopkins’ The Mentor, again a spot-on moniker!) hitman who at times is too smart for his own good.
There is something fishy about the film’s main assignment. The Mentor has said that the mark is someone that The Virtuoso will have to weed out. Who could it be? He is only provided with a locale (a rural diner), and a puzzling set of clues that lead him to believe it could be the local sheriff (David Morse) or a loner (Eddie Marsan). Then, he meets The Waitress (Abbie Cornish, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri). Her presence muddles the mission in ways that are smartly employed by Stagliano, keeping the audience (and the hitman himself) guessing, mystified, and utterly confounded.
For both audience and the film’s subject, this is a puzzle of the highest cerebral sense. This guy could not be more professional. Yet everything that has led him to this point in his career could also completely derail it with this latest hit. It is every bit as captivating as it sounds.
There is a reason why film is currently called “a director’s medium.” Since the 70s when a long line of helmers—think Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, and others who have become household names—redefined the movie experience, the person saying, “action” or “cut” has been the sole influence on the orchestration of the tone, look, feel… you name it. Films such as The Virtuoso remind us of that fact on numerous fronts.
By choosing to rely heavily on voice-over, Stagliano is in many ways toying with his viewers like a cat and a toy. We solely take his point of view. That only increases with the passage of time and the tale itself. The filmmaker adds layers to his mystery with that seemingly simple choice. Therefore, when confusion sets in once he arrives at that rustic diner, we are as thrown off by the bread crumb clues that are left seemingly everywhere. The simple act of checking into a roadside motel expands the cryptic nature of the gig. It becomes a complex method of discovering the mark in ways that are simultaneously thrilling, intriguing, and captivating.
In many ways, The Virtuoso feels like a film noir, yet that would be a too easy descriptor for what this experience is for the audience. There is a darkness to those films that the filmmaker of this one never completely commits to, through his defining who these characters are and how and why they each interact.
Having the title character say very little (out loud), it only adds to the supporting players’ ability to delineate themselves in a manner that only makes this puzzle more puzzling. Through the first two acts, The Virtuoso—on the other hand—could not be more defined. It is in that final act that his entire life will be decided. When answers are finally given, it is done in such a way that is not only smart but wickedly self-aware. One begins to believe that the film’s moniker could, in fact, belong to someone else. This is no bait and switch. It is an intelligently, well-produced, and well-constructed slice of cinema that is refreshingly surprising.
Audiences have seen a lot in their collective lifetimes. It takes insane levels of originality for twists and turns to work and make an impact on viewers. Stagliano has achieved that and in the process delivered a thrilling mystery that is every bit as intelligent as the audience viewing the film.
Grade: B+