The American

George Clooney is an expatriate American assassin on a “working vacation” in provincial Italy. He chats by phone with his untrustworthy employer (Johan Leysen). He cautiously befriends a wise priest (Paolo Bonacelli). He borrows parts from a car mechanic to custom-build a suppressor for his hand-assembled Ruger Mini-14 auto-loading rifle. He enjoys a nice picnic and some assassination shoptalk with a colleague (Thekla Reuten), plus hot sex and reluctant love with a prostitute (Violante Placido). Everybody looks beautiful. The script is by Rowan Joffe, from Martin Booth’s novel. The direction is by Anton Corbijn, a Dutch photographer who made a similarly arty movie about Joy Division frontman Ian Curtis (Control), and some handsome music videos. In case you haven’t guessed, this is a high-class affair, with quiet Euro sophistication permeating every frame. If that’s enough for you, you’ll love it.