At slutty professor Gary Johnson (by Glen PowellHe teaches psychology at a college in New Orleans and is an unlikely freelancer: in his spare time, he helps the local police with wiretapping equipment. One day an eccentric employee (Austin Amelio(who is undercover) is fired and sent on holiday, to everyone’s relief, then Gary is suddenly sent “into the field” in his place – to be met disguised as an assassin (they are told they are not actually one). Talk to people who are seeking charity and record their confessions. Johnson suddenly revealed a real talent for such conversions, and the department’s statistics improved noticeably. But Gary’s life turns upside down when he meets Maddie Masters. (Adria Arjona) – a girl with bottomless eyes and big problems.
Let’s start with confusion, in the tradition of the Soviet disco game “Alice in Wonderland”: “I am not a killer”, which is actually “Killer” but, to be completely honest, “Hitman” (none of the options contradicts others), where comedy quickly turns black and romance turns into crime A romantic comedy where he starts playing games with the thriller. Then it turned out that the closest analogue of the picture does not exist another fresh romantic comedy With Powell’s series “Anyone But You” (where the artist’s partner was the star of “Euphoria” and “White Lotus” Sydney Sweeney) and the series “Florida Man”, Filmed in the spirit of breast headlines in the American press – and was criminally ignored by audiences a year ago. “I Am Not a Killer” relates to this “funny Ozark” not only in its fiery and violent spirit, but also in its genesis (the script was based on an article about the real Gary Johnson; the cop pretended to be the killer in between psychology classes). And in essence too: much here is subject to evacuation from the cocoon of generally accepted frameworks – in the dramatic sense – for both the characters and the film itself.
I have to express myself in an abstract way because there is a risk of spoiling a lot of things in “I Am Not a Murderer” (which is frankly crazy for a romantic comedy) and therefore ruining the viewing experience. We can say this clearly: the film has in its past the mischievous “School of Rock”, the psychotropic-paranoid “A Scanner Darkly” and, most importantly, the lyrical trilogy “Before.. .”. After Adria Arjona appears in the frame, a familiar conversation movie with amazing chemistry opens (the characters flirt with each other so greedily that you leave the movie as if you were kissed on a date). Perhaps this is a result of Linklater’s openness to collaboration with his actors: Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy once worked with the director on the screenplays for Before Sunset and Before Midnight, and he co-wrote the screenplay for I’m Not a Hitman with Glen Powell. the artist’s first release and second production project in this capacity).
A frame from the movie “I am not a murderer” (2023)
“Heaven”
Powell himself clearly relishes acting within acting here, attesting not only to his sheer competence in the romantic comedy genre (his second success in a year, after “Anyone But You”), but also to his ability to carry himself in general. The confidence of a movie star – in a good way and in the somewhat rarefied, old-fashioned sense of the term. The latter becomes another dimension of the film in itself: the ability of some performers to transform into different characters, but at the same time remind them of their own personality with every second of their presence on the screen, which seems to be inherent in Powell, very entertaining to the local “fake it ’til you make it” principle “somehow it fits” (fake it ’til you make it – “fake it ’til you make it”, British proverb) “Who am I?” in the field of personal development It blurs the boundaries between questions. and “who do I want to be?” The same goes for Linklater’s artistic diversity, which spreads with an additional layer throughout the film: “I’m Not a Murderer,” a multifaceted picture about a man with many faces, serves in its own way as the crown of the director’s filmography. – and it’s like he’s dipping his toe into the pool of metacinematography.
But in general, all this is not so important. In April, the film never made it to the Moscow International Film Festival, which is a shame, of course; It fully corresponds to the decision expressed there by Roman Mikhailov: “We need to make films about love”. “I’m Not a Murderer” is a seemingly easy genre movie, in reality it’s quite cunningly and skillfully arranged (it’s scary to say, not without psychology) – and for a change, it has something to say. . The idea that everyone is, to some extent, the architect of not only their own happiness but their own personality isn’t all that original, but overall it evokes a (subconscious) desire for a rare romantic comedy. Read Carl Jung. This is truly the most important of the arts.
A frame from the movie “I am not a murderer” (2023)
“Heaven”
Premiere date: 5 September 2023 (Venice)
Release date in Russia: May 16, 2024
Duration: 115 minutes
Manager: Richard Linklater
Casting: Glen Powell, Adria Arjona, Austin Amelio, Retta
What are you thinking?
Source: Gazeta
Brandon Hall is an author at “Social Bites”. He is a cultural aficionado who writes about the latest news and developments in the world of art, literature, music, and more. With a passion for the arts and a deep understanding of cultural trends, Brandon provides engaging and thought-provoking articles that keep his readers informed and up-to-date on the latest happenings in the cultural world.