AMERICAN STAR

(director: Gonzalo Lopez-Gallego; screenwriter: Nacho Faerna; cinematographer: Jose David Montero; editor: ; music: Remate Noland; cast: Ian McShane ( Wilson), Nora Arnezeder (Gloria), Fanny Ardant (Anne), Thomas Kretschmann (Thomas), Andrés Gertrúdix (Cowboy), Oscar Coleman (Max, 10-year-old), Sabela Arán (Linda), Adam Nagaitis (Ryan), Pedro Alberto Galindo (Bartender); Runtime: 107; MPAA Rating: R; producers: Michael Elliot, Ian McShane;  IFC Films; 2024)

“It works well as a character study of a mysterious hit man, who shows us his human side.”

Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz

The Spanish director Gonzalo Lopez-Gallego (“Open Grave”/”King of the Hill”) decently directs this well-acted, offbeat thriller about an aging hit man, who might be on his last job. It’s written by Nacho Faerna. The minor crime film is executed in a formulaic way and is slow paced, but has splendid visuals.

Wilson (Ian McShane, who is 81) is on assignment to kill a man he never met, on the picturesque island of Fuerteventura, one of the Canary Islands.

While spying on his target’s house, an attractive young French lady uses his swimming pool. Later Wilson spots her at work in a bar and finds out her name is Gloria (Nora Arnezeder). After telling her he’s interested in buying a house on the island, she shows him around the island and some houses that are on the market. She also takes him to see the wrecked ship on the island, the American Star, and then introduces him to her observant mother (Fanny Ardant), who is suspicious of him.

Wilson’s jolly young UK handler (Adam Nagaitis) arrives on the island about halfway into the pic. His presence brings a sense of menace, as he’s here to make sure the hit job gets done.

It works well as a character study of a mysterious hit man, who shows us his human side and wonders what his life would have been like if he had a conventional one.

REVIEWED ON 3/5/2020  GRADE: B