The Gunman certainly has a great cast, led by Sean Penn alongside Javier Bardem, Idris Elba, Ray Winstone and Mark Rylance. Indeed getting such a cast of luminaries together is surprising as the plot makes it sound like pretty standard stuff – hopefully the film itself will offer something more.
Pierre Morel (Taken) directs based on the novel by Jean-Patrick Manchette.
Here’s the synopsis: ‘Deadly professional assassin Martin Terrier returns to Paris after his latest job determined to get out of the game. Ten years ago he made a promise to return to his childhood sweetheart in the south of France. But circumstances put Martin’s attempted retirement on hold: a key target is flying in to Paris, and there is only one man fit for the task of eliminating him. As Martin flees southwards, desperate to return to the crushing mediocrity of life in a backwater town, he finds his former employers will stop at nothing to regain his services for one last job. Bursting with Gallic irony and visceral brutality, The Gunman (originally published in English as The Prone Gunman) is a shocking and sardonic masterpiece from the late, great master of the French crime novel, J-P Manchette.’
A February 20th UK release is set, and it’ll arrive in the US March 30th.
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