Hitman 2024
A caricature of the sick American society. The first half, which is based on a true story, is interesting
At the beginning of the movie, a disclaimer is displayed stating that the film is “a somewhat true story inspired by the life of Gary Johnson.” The model for the main character is a real person who cooperated with the police, posing as a hit man, and contributed to the arrest of many suspects of instigating murder.
When you read the article in a monthly magazine in Texas (which can also be viewed online by searching texas monthly hit man) that introduced director Richard Linklater and his team to this unique person, you are first shocked by the fact that Gary, who is based in Houston, Texas, was asked to kill more than 60 people in 10 years. Houston has a population of about 2.3 million, and the city of Nagoya is similar in size to the city of Houston in Japan. It seems unbelievable to hear that Nagoya receives six murder requests every year, but the fact that this is a reality in America makes you realize the seriousness of the sickness of society.
hitman 2024 true story
Although the setting was moved from Houston to New Orleans for filming purposes, the first half of the film is largely based on a true story, in which Gary, a psychology professor at a college, researches the target of the undercover operation in advance and plays different assassin characters that the target would like. This is not limited to the special relationship between a murder instigator and an undercover investigator, but is an interesting theme about interpersonal communication that is related to the idea of using multiple personas depending on the person, which is also related to the divisionism advocated by author Keiichiro Hirano, and depending on the content of the second half, it could have been a film that makes people think deeply about the nature of human beings from the perspective of identity and interpersonal relationships.
As introduced in the original article, there is also an episode in which Gary persuades a woman who asks him to kill her abusive partner to stop, and advises her to break up and start a new life. However, the romance that blossoms between Gary, played by Glen Powell (who also co-wrote the screenplay with director Linklater), and Madison (Puerto Rican-American actress Adria Arjona), who requested the killer, and the subsequent developments are of course fictional.
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I felt that this latter half of the film, where fiction dominates, had a major problem similar to that of “May December,” directed by Todd Haynes, which was released in Japan in July. I will be vague in consideration of those who have not seen it, but there are two main aspects to this problem. The first is that while the film is based on a real person, in order to make the story more “dramatic,” episodes are created and added that make the person’s values and ethics seem biased and distorted (it gives the impression of lacking consideration and respect for the original person). The second is that, based on the protagonist’s judgment of right and wrong, it may convey a self-righteous message that it is okay to punish those who have done bad things (even if it is vigilante justice), and that it is okay for bad people to be sacrificed for the protagonist’s goals and happiness.
I have favorites from Linklater’s films, such as “Everybody Wants Some!!,” so I am disappointed with the quality of this film. As with “May December,” I think the arrogance of Hollywood filmmakers is apparent. The fact that such a project was approved, a large budget was given, and the film was completed and released is also ironic, as it seems to expose the sick side of American society.
Hitman 2024
hitman 2024 cast
