The Hit (1984)

The basic plot of this film is fairly ordinary and the pace not exactly fast - anyone wanting non-stop Tarantino-style action may be disappointed. Yes, the film does contain violence but in between there are quieter moments where the characters are given time to reflect

• not on the lyrics of "Like A Virgin", but on their lives, their illusions, and the hand that fate has dealt them.

Although each character is a stereotype and made to think and act accordingly, the unfolding chain of events forces each one (albeit briefly) to re-think and

re-evaluate his place in the scheme of things. It never gets too deep and meaningful (you sometimes get the impression it was supposed to), but it's refreshing to see characters normally shown as one-dimensional having fears, doubts and (sometimes!) even genuine human reactions.

The mixture of "gangsters on the run" and introspection would limit this films' appeal somewhat but it's a nice change from the normal action film . A word too for the great acting from the wonderfully eclectic cast - all strong character actors, contributing greatly to appeal of this movie.

Fmovies: Low key drama is very interesting if you give it time and listen to the dialog. The acting by the four main characters is effective, the story is straightforward, and the outcome is always in doubt. Special mention must be made of the excellent score and scenery. John Hurt elicits tension with his minimalist performance. Terrence Stamp shows detached indifference to his pending fate. Tim Roth and Laura Del Sol also give convincing performances. Some terrific camera angles and sharp direction adds to the overall enjoyment of "The Hit". This is not a loud movie, but rather a very quiet one that will hold your attention despite a leisurely pace. - MERK

The Hit is a movie that is hard to forget, but if you do you'll be happy to remember it. It's the kind of movie that had I seen it in the 1980's, I would still think back fondly to a moment or two, to the strange sense of inner peace that Terence Stamp's character Willie Parker has on this 'road trip' to his death by the hands of gangsters, or the way that John Hurt's Braddock wears his sunglasses, or how the chipper Spanish music accentuates scenes with an unusual flavor. We may have seen movies where a criminal, who went 'rat' on his former criminal buddies, is discovered years later to finally meet his comeuppance, but it's hard to think of another quite like this, one that is directed with such an eye for photographic beauty in the Spanish villas and mountains and deserts, or with the dark comedy of the performances.

It's ostensibly just about that, two criminals (Hurt and Tim Roth) taking a guy like Willie Parker back to meet his maker for what he did. But there's more to the tale: they stop off at another mate's flat in Madrid and they take his girl (Laura Del Sol), an innocent, as collateral when they get across the border, and from there it's about what Braddock will or won't do, what Roth's Myron as the young, energetic upstart who could possibly stop Braddock from his path of destruction, and how a weary detective (Fernando Rey, who has not a line of dialog) follows along the trail of violence and bloodshed. It's about this without ever having to push the dialog in explanation too much: only in the last third, when we hear Willie's reasons for being so... comfortable with his position as a kidnapped wanted man, that the screenplay stops to add words.

It's fairly dramatic and contemplative on what it is to be a criminal, how to be as you are with a gun pointed at someone or committing violence or acting all like a bad-ass. There's this conflict we see especially between the three characters of Willie, Myron and Braddock, where one is just along for the ride, with some gallows humor so to speak ("I'll just get back in the car then?), one is just fine getting his thousand dollars for his first ever job, but will stop his superior if need be, and the other is quiet and calm, like a refugee from a Jim Jarmusch crime film (coincidentally to the Stranger from Limits of Control Hurt was also in that mystery movie), but is professional to a degree. Frears lets the actors open up the material as he opens up the scope and environments they inhabit: it's not about the standard plot, but about what the characters are about.

I may have made The Hit to sound ponderous or pretentious, but it really isn't. It's a very entertaining and surprising ride we take, where conventions are eschewed for that feeling of anything-is-possible on the road. There's some laughs, there's some thrills, and an ending that is not predictable despite it following a formula going all the way back to 1940's film noir. It's an underrated gem from British crime lore that should be seen by anyone on the lookout for something different from the genre, or for something unexpected from the actors (Roth's being his screen debut).

The Hit fmovies. ...........................................................from Pasto,Colombia...Via: L.A. CA., CALI, COLOMBIA....and ORLANDO, FL

Sometimes a little reflection helps put things in perspective. The review you're reading now is vastly different from the one I sat down to write last night. The HIT seemed to have betrayed itself and short-changed the viewer by radically violating the principals set down throughout the course of the film. But that was last night. Today, at lunch, I "got it"! Last night it was 5.5*.

Luckily, patience, plus a little reflection, seem to have paid off: Today you're getting the 8.5* Deluxe REIEW Version! Willie Parker (Terence Stamp) is a former criminal who has had years to reflect on life, in general, and death, in particular! He has taken up reading books on philosophy, history, poetry, psychology and pretty much anything he can lay his hands on. For a man in his 40's, he strikes one as a bit young to be retired. Well, He isn't.

Willie is in rural Spain in the European Union's version of the Witness Protection Program; seeing as how he ratted out his buddies back in England, 10 years earlier. Surprisingly, they didn't seem to buy Willie's explanation that "He had seen the light! It felt like the right thing to do". Willie's day of reckoning comes when his ex-blokes have him kidnapped and brought to justice, EU Mafia style.

Throughout his entire ordeal, Willie looks more like someone going on a picnic than a guy who's about to have the walls decorated with his brains! His captors, an icy jaded pro (John Hurt) and his hapless, hot-tempered apprentice (Tim Roth, in a breakthrough role) stand incredulous before Willie's apparent calm and indifference to his plight.

Remember how SNL's Rosanna Rosanadana used to say: "It's always SOMETHING!" Well, in the course of transporting their victim to the slaughter, it's one constant "Something" after another! When The HIT is over (assuming you "get it") you'll have a slight smile on your face and a twinkle in your eye...just like the icy hit man's!

8.5* STARS....ENJOY/DISFRUTELA!

Any comments, questions or observations, in English o en Español, are most welcome!

The writing and acting are outstanding -all the characters are imbued with distinct three-dimensional personalities. The humor is very dry, and there's a deep sense of irony that pervades this film. The thrust of the script, I feel, outlines how human intellect and instinct constantly play a game of one-upsmanship, and the nature of life is, ultimately, unpredictable and beyond our control. A personal favorite.

A petty gangster rats out his accomplices and goes into protective custody with his new-found penchant for books and thought, until one day retribution arrives in the form of two assassins. The gangster, now a philosopher who claims he is ready for death as just another step in the progression of life, is taken for a long ride across Spain so that the crime boss he ratted out can witness vengeance inflicted.

Talk about your minor masterpieces! This has long been one of my favorites ever since I stumbled across it on one of the premium cable movie channels many years ago.

It's hard to put my finger on just what it is, exactly, that makes this movie great. One can hardly point to substantial character development, because the characters (with one exception) never really become true flesh and blood to us. The plot meanders, truth be told. The dialog is clever but rarely brilliant. So what is it? Certainly the locations and the music, the general ambiance, add a lot to the movie. The car, the clouds of dust, the brilliant Spanish sun, the arc of azure sky, the arid hills, the sultry guitar: these things alone can turn a marginal movie into a good one. Exterior shots predominate, and with good reason. The director knew how to combine simple, pure elements--strong, bold colors, bright sunlight, stark images, and exactly the right sounds--in ways that seem to speak of things larger than themselves.

But I don't mean to make the rest of the movie sound marginal. The characters aren't terribly well fleshed-out, but they are interesting nevertheless. Hurt's character, the silent, wary predator, comes across as a bit stilted, but he makes it work with his craggy face, his angular body, his croaking voice, and especially his eternally weary eyes. (Few characters could have taken on this role without looking ridiculous.) Stamp is also stilted yet convincing as the amateur philosopher and erstwhile rogue at peace with himself and his fate. Roth, even more constricted in his role, also manages to put across a convincing if thoroughly unsavory persona. These actors don't have much to work with, and yet none of them ever slips into crudely cartoonish performances. They remain genuine, to the degree their characters allow.

The real surprise is the girl, Laura del Sol. Her obvious physical charms, barely stuffed into a very small dress, lead the viewer (the pop-eyed male viewer, anyway) into writing her off as mere eye candy, until the confrontation between her and Hurt, and the cruel, angry glow in her eyes, brings it home that here perhaps is the highest talent in this cast. It is she alone who stands out, at the end of the movie, as someone we can recognize and identify with; someone who isn't a mere cypher. What a pity that she has done so little else in English-speaking movies.

Whether you find the ending of this movie satisfying probably says something about your own personality, and how you view concepts like loyalty, crime, vengeance, and justice. I won't go into my own reactions. I'll only say that, when the movie is over, you'll find that, not only have you watched an absorbing movie, but you probably have things to think about.