Published on NewYorkCool.com
Bye-bye Bond, Hello Brosnan
by Christina M. Hinke
New York Cool
December 22, 2005
"The Matador." Written and Directed by Richard Sheppard.
Opens Dec. 23, 2005.
Starring: Pierce Brosnan, Greg Kinnear and Hope Davis.The Matador opens with a shot of Pierce Brosnan in bed with a woman. We’ve all seen that before. What we haven’t seen is his rummaging through her purse to look for her nail polish and then sauntering off to the bathroom where he rips some pieces of toilet tissue to place between his toes. And then he proceeds to paints his toe nails. This is just the beginning of the unraveling of his on-screen persona.
Brosnan plays Julian Noble, a hit man having a mid-life crisis. He’s a bit overweight, drinks a lot, has a bad haircut and a mustache and he is a sex fiend. The Bond suave is gone. He is the anti-Bond. And to prove it, the film gives a few sly nods to the 007 series. A shaking of a drink tumbler is just one.
The biggest ‘wink wink’ Brosnan bestows on us is that this is the best performance he has ever given. He is both funny and tragic throughout this dark comedy. Even though Julian is vulgar, Brosnan finds just the right (character) mix to keep the
audience rooting for him. Perfect comedic timing from Greg Kinnear, Hope
Davis and Brosnan and a tight script from Richard Sheppard make this film
one of the freshest hit man movies to come our way in a long time.
Copyright 2005 Christina M. Hinke. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
