Movie Review: The Matador

The Matador (2005) 

Directed by Richard Shepherd 

Written by Richard Shepherd 

Starring Pierce Brosnan, Greg Kinnear, Phillip Baker Hall, Hope Davis 

Release Date December 30th, 2005 

Published December 27th, 2005 

A great matador can kill a bull with a single precise blow from his sword. This pinpoint accuracy is prized by the crowd who, despite the sport's inherent cruelty, cannot abide the bull suffering too much. At first glimpse the title The Matador seems odd for a movie without a matador character, but with the film set in Mexico and the lead actor playing a hit-man prized for his precision, the title choice becomes clear perfection. Also perfect is the casting of the film which moves the former James Bond, Pierce Brosnan, on to a new career path that may be more rewarding than any secret agent franchise.

Pierce Brosnan stars in The Matador as Julian Noble, a hit-man who's losing his touch. Julian has been blowing off jobs and telling his handler, Mr. Randy (Phillip Baker Hall), he just needs a vacation, something most hit-men are not afforded. One lonely night in a Mexico City hotel bar Julian meets Danny Wright (Greg Kinnear), who's in Mexico on business. Desperate for any kind of human contact--someone he doesn't have to pay or kill--Julian buys Danny a drink and makes a fumbling attempt at friendship.

Julian is terrible with people and manages to insult Danny more than once before Danny finally agrees to hang out with him. Danny has his own troubles. He desperately needs a major business contract with a Mexican firm or his new company will go under. As if that wasn't enough, just before he left his home in Denver, a tree fell through the wall of his kitchen--nearly killing him and his wife, Bean (Hope Davis).

Julian is, at first, leery of telling Danny what he does for a living. Eventually however, while attending a bullfight, he finally breaks down and tells Danny who reacts with a reasonable disbelief. After a rather ingenious demonstration where Julian nearly kills a target that Danny chose at random, Danny finally comes to believe Julian is a hit-man. Here is where the film takes its first unique turn. Rather than run away from Julian, Danny is intrigued by him and takes on the interesting perspective about what a great story he will have to tell his friends back home. Not many people can say they hung out with a contract killer.

There are plenty of unique twists and turns in The Matador, but to go into much more detail would ruin the fun of this cleverly scripted comedy. Written and directed by Richard Shepard, best known for the direct to video thriller Oxygen, The Matador never goes where you expect it to. The rare unpredictability of The Matador is its charm. Shepard scripts the film with an eye on what is expected in each scene and turns every predictable scene on it's ear.

Pierce Brosnan is attempting to start a brand new career post-James Bond and The Matador is an excellent start. While his comic skills are suspect--he never seems quite comfortable delivering a joke--Brosnan is undeniably handsome and charismatic and that kind of charm can carry an actor along way. Brosnan is aided by a deft and clever script that never tries for big laughs but rather quiet, appreciative smiles as satisfying as big guffaws.

Greg Kinnear and Hope Davis are well cast as a married couple who have never lost the spark of first love. Writer-director Shepard gives both actors a great deal to play with and trusts his actors to make the material come off the page. Because most of the film is made up of smart, funny, dialogue without the kind of dramatic flourishes or overstated comic setups you might expect from a film of the action-comedy genre that The Matador is haphazardly included within. Davis and Kinnear find a lovely beat to play within the familiar genre elements of The Matador and their chemistry is exceptional. 

The Matador plays a little like "David Mamet lite". Drop the expletives (there are a few but not of the Mamet degree), keep the sharp wordplay, and whip smart plotting and you have a movie that resembles Mamet while displaying a light comic touch that establishes the film as a Richard Shepard original.  The real delight of The Matador are the three principle stars who bite into this smart material with gusto. 

These are tough roles which, in the commercials, and the film's trailers are played up as broadly comic but are in fact quieter and more cerebral. Yes, the performances tickle at times and draw more than a few good laughs but the most effort is put into establishing these characters and the universe they inhabit as something plausibly close to reality.

One of the last films of the Weinstein/Miramax-Disney partnership, The Matador only suffers the lack of full support by one studio giving it the marketing attention it deserves. But aside from that, The Matador is a wonderfully clever comic thriller that gives three terrific actors three exceptional roles that each knocks out of the park. For audiences looking for smart funny adult-minded movies, The Matador is a gift.