3 Short Paragraphs (Or Not): Old Guy

2024, Simon West (Wild Card) -- download

Its kind of odd when you recognize you have seen a good amount of a director's catalogue, but very little stood out. I guess it says something for their choice of vehicle and my tastes?

Old Guy presented itself as another in a line of movies I have been watching of late -- the aging man of violence; this time a hitman for a (not American style the) London mob who was recovering from surgery on his trigger hand, and is tasked with training his replacement. The trailers implied a violent situational comedy, light hearted in the vein of The Killer's Game or Love Hurts. It wasn't that; at all. Well, the premise was, but it was not (always, intentionally) funny. Editing can do that.

Danny Dolinski (Christoph Waltz, Most Dangerous Game) works for Opal. Even though he is recovering from his injury, everyone knows he's not going to be like he used to be -- an unparalleled classic hitman / enforcer, a name in the business, feared and respected by the enemies of his boss. So, she brings in Wihlborg (Cooper Hoffman, Licorice Pizza), an apparent "prodigy" in the killing business (she takes the opportunity to point out, "like you Danny, in your prime.") but he has an issue with collateral damage. Danny will oversee a hit with Wihlborg, and provide pointers. Of course, Danny's idea is entirely different, thinking he can prove himself to his bosses by taking care of it all himself. But he hasn't let his hand fully heal, so he cannot. And Wihlborg has to clean up after the mess he makes.

It should be pointed out that Wihlborg is an utter gobshite. He's a Gen Z with all the attached pejoratives -- his fashion sense, his controlled diet, his opinions on alcohol, etc. Meanwhile Danny is a free-wheeling, hedonistic "old guy" who spends any time he is not killing: drinking, popping pills, dancing in clubs with multiple women more than half his age, and group sex. Danny is no Clooney in The American, more a roguish clown, which is where the comedy reference comes from.

The pair are sent to Northern Ireland to facilitate Opal's attempt at a mob takeover. Danny brings his best friend, brothel owner Anata (Lucy Liu, Presence), because she has contacts in the city, and also to help defuse the tension between him and the dipshit in the backseat. There is something between the two old friends, but its not a romantic history, but definitely some sort of sexual tension... more so on Danny's side of things, but I think he is not the type of guy to admit attraction to an age appropriate woman.

This whole trip is part of a plan Opal has to eliminate the "old guard", the competition, and place herself as the new Big Boss of the UK mobs. And if Danny gets killed along the way, so be it. Hopefully Wihlborg learns something before then. Except, nothing goes as planned, which is disastrous for all. Opal thinks she has everything well planned out, but she doesn't, and it costs her everything.

Most of these movies focus on the violence, the hits and the mob culture, but this one is all about Danny. We meet his mother, in a small seaside house in Northern Ireland. We see Danny's polite and respectful interactions with the mob old-guard, often before he kills them. He knows this world well, and the people in it, and how to interact in a "proper manner". But he also is able to observe that things are changing, people aren't following "the rules" and eventually he gets it through his thick skull that he is not as capable as he once was. But, even so, he still saves Wihlborg's life, and garner's a level of respect from the damaged young man. 

I liked the movie... I guess? It was never going to leave much of a long impression, and was just this side shy of being a full character piece, and its presentation style is unfettered, and not in a good way this time; it could have done with more style. My memory harkens back to Drive which, in hazy memory, I was very impressed by, in that it took a small story of violence and criminal activity and found something expansive, and it had Refn written all over it. Old Guy could have been that, and I sense it wanted to be, but I am not sure West is capable of that. I think he needs his style baked into the property, to find something distinct in the movie.

I mean, look at that poster. Was any effort put into that, like ANY AT ALL ?

That said, I actually am going to watch his highly panned Stratton not as a matter of desire, though it has sat on my Amazon lists for years, where this movie will end up eventually, but now I am just curious when he moves from "meh" to outright terrible.