Netflix pick for 7/14/14 – ‘The American’

In “The American,” a European-style slow burn character drama starring George Clooney, a man whose trade always results in death for others is plagued by his life decisions, weighing him down with guilt, leaving him broken inside, wondering if he can even maintain any sort of semblance of what could maybe perhaps at least be mistaken for an actual human connection and relationship. Even if it’s with a hooker.

From Dutch photographer turned music video director turned feature filmmaker Anton Corbijn, this is a small movie in terms of plot mechanics and whatnot, because it involves a lot of meditative scenes of Clooney’s gunsmith character silently pondering his experience, either while drinking coffee or driving through the countryside or making a gun or whatever. Sure there’s a few spurts of action here and there, but that’s not what this movie is about. It is about the style and mood and how both are successfully maintained throughout.

So watch “The American” here on the Netflix and make yourself a cappuccino and enjoy (both, the coffee and the movie).