#TIFF23: “HIT MAN” REVIEW

By David Baldwin

Gary Johnson (Glen Powell) is a professor who moonlights as a surveillance operative for the police. He is asked to fill in as an “undercover hitman-for-hire” during one sting, and surprises everyone with the strength and believability of his performance. Gary quickly becomes the go-to undercover performer and one day meets Madison (Adria Arjona), who wants to hire him to kill her husband.

Talk about your classic meet cute.

HIT MAN, the latest from multi-hyphenate Director Richard Linklater, is easily one of the hottest and most sought-after tickets at TIFF ’23. It is not hard to figure out why – he directs the hell out of the Film, crafting an offbeat Romantic Comedy that is just a joy to watch. Linklater has never been nailed down to one genre over the course of his nearly 40-year career, always swinging for the fences with mainstream experimentation and zigging when you assume he should be zagging. Though there are a few occasional story stumbles here and places where it could have been tightened, this is easily one of his best and funniest films; the kind of screwball Comedy we have not seen in decades.

Of course, we cannot give Linklater all the credit. The Film is very much a collaboration between him and Writer/Producer Powell, who is having the time of his life. This is their third film together and I can only hope there will be more collabs soon, because this has the promise of being one of the great actor/director pairings. Powell is electric from the moment the Film begins, narrating with gusto and confidently jumping into every scene headfirst. The scenes with him chatting with different perps in very different costumes are a clear highlight, showcasing his range and adoration for the material (which is based on a true story). But it is his powder keg chemistry with Arjona that really makes the Film sing. It is immediately palpable in their first scene together, and only gets stronger and sexier as the Film goes on.

Make sure you have the fire department on speed dial when you watch. Because any time these two are together threatens to ignite the screen from how incendiary their chemistry is.

HIT MAN screens at TIFF ’23:

Monday, September 11 at 5:30 PM at Royal Alexandra Theatre

Tuesday, September 12 at 2:00 PM at Royal Alexandra Theatre

Saturday, September 16 at 8:30 PM at Scotiabank Theatre Toronto [Newly Added]