Are you happy with your life? Do you like who you have become? If not, can you change, truly change your circumstances and who you are? These are two questions central to Richard Linklater’s Hit Man.
The new Netflix film, co-written by Linklater and star Glen Powell, is loosely adapted from a Texas Monthly article also titled “Hit Man.” It follows Gary Johnson (Powell), a psychology professor and part-time contractor with the New Orleans Police Department. He works on the tech side of sting operations, arresting those who seek out the work of contract killers.
But Gary gets thrust into the spotlight when the crew’s normal undercover man Jasper (Austin Amelio) is suspended for four months for beating up some teenagers. Left with no other choice, they send Gary in. And to everyone’s surprise, the sweet-but-dorky Gary is a natural. With this first operation leading to an arrest, Gary assumes the undercover role through Jasper’s suspension. This success proves to be no fluke, as Gary has continued success. And not only that, but he enjoys the work.
Gary invents a new personality, a tailored hit man, for each contact. Doing his own research and putting his psychology background to work, he is able to come up with each person’s “fantasy contract killer.” Whether or not this specific approach is necessary is beside the point. Whatever he’s doing, it’s working.
But everything gets a bit more complicated when Gary, as “Ron,” meets Madison (Adria Arjona). She wants to take a hit out on her controlling husband. The two form a connection, and Gary starts to feel sympathetic towards her. When she tries to pay him – the final piece needed before the police can move in for an arrest – Gary stops her. He tells her to use the money to get away and start a new life.
A little while later, Madison reaches out to Ron, telling him she took his advice, is living on her own, and is getting a divorce. The two meet up, and begin a relationship. Gary, though, does not tell her the truth, and goes full on into a double life – his real life as Gary, and his relationship with Madison as Ron. From there, his life becomes increasingly complicated as his two selves seem to be on a path to eventually converge.
While Hit Man could have just as easily been a dark, hardened thriller, Linklater and Powell imbue the story with their usual charismatic flair, making it a (mostly) lighter watch, quick-paced and lots of fun with plenty of laughs. It’s the definition of a crowd-pleaser, through and through.
The story itself gets you on board from the start. A dweeby guy who gets thrust into such an intense situation, thrives and loves it? Sign me up. Then you pull in the existential questions at play. As Gary becomes more and more comfortable in his acting roles, he begins to wonder if he can change he can actually change who he is. He’s happy enough in his own life, he’s well-liked (if not sought after for social events), even remaining friends with his ex-wife.
But his performances as the fake hitmen give him glimpses that things could be different, if he wanted them to. And that feeling is amplified by 100 when he meets Madison. She actually likes Ron, they have a real, strong connection. Does Gary want to become Ron? Or is Gary already Ron, and he needs to let that side of him come out more often?
And that’s a really interesting question the movie poses. Some would say you can change who you are. Others say you can’t fundamentally change, it’s only a matter of which parts of yourself do you expose, do you allow to be visible and acted upon.
That being said, simply posing an interesting question to does not make a movie good. It doesn’t matter if its ideas are good if it doesn’t do anything interesting with them. But Hit Man does. But even better than that, it doesn’t give you an answer. At least I don’t think so. There’s a line near the end that some might point to, but I think that’s just Gary answering for himself. And I think that’s what Linklater and Powell want us, the audience, to do.
They’re not interested in telling us whether we can or cannot change. They want to present the question, show us a “study” if you will, and let us decide for ourselves. And that shows an impressive amount of restraint. Too many filmmakers would want to present their answer as “the” answer, as if it’s the only correct way of thinking. But they recognize it’s much impactful to let us all decide on our own.
With a great story as a baseline, Hit Man gives its cast plenty room to play and chances to shine. Powell is the obvious one, getting to have tons of fun as the various hitmen characters he gets to play. Each one plays like a short SNL skit, with the absurdity of the situation and the pathetic people seeking out these services making for big laughs.
If you somehow haven’t been convinced of Glen Powell’s superstar ascension by now, you will be after seeing Hit Man. The guy just has “it.” Whether you want to call “it” acting ability, charisma, good looks, whatever, he’s got it. And it’s all on display here. He should be the king of Hollywood, and he should be it now.
And speaking of having “it”, Adria Arjona my GOODNESS. She’s far from newcomer (Triple Frontier, 6 Underground, Morbius, Andor are among her more recent works), but her work here is next level. She’s everything you want this character to be and to have. Sultry, seductive, funny, smart, charming, she’s got it. Glen Powell can create chemistry with a phone book, but Arjona matches him every step of the way, and that might be the most impressive part about her performance.
I think back to last year’s Anyone but You, with Powell and Sydney Sweeney. I thought they had good chemistry (for the most part) in that movie. But comparing that to Hit Man? Not only are they not in the same league, they’re not even playing the same sport. Powell is maybe the most naturally charismatic actor working right now. It’s a tall task to ask anyone to match him. But Arjona was up to the task and then some.
When your two leads are this lock-step with each other, it elevates every other piece of the film, makes every scene they’re in together that much better. If Everybody Wants Some!! was “the moment” for Glen Powell, Hit Man could – and hopefully will – be that for Arjona.
It’s pretty simple. Hit Man is wildly enjoyable and one of the year’s most fun movie-watching experiences. Factor in the themes at play, and of course the dynamite duo of Glen Powell and Adria Arjona, and you also have one of the year’s best. Go watch. Now.
Grade: A-
