Angelo Ledda, an aging hit man, is assigned the task of killing a twelve-year-old girl and finally balks, putting the gang and its aristocrat capo on his trail, as well as Antwerp's finest detectives. Ledda is developing Alzheimer's and this complicates matters, but in the end he gets his just desserts and deliberately leaves behind evidence that leads the police to the Baron who heads the criminals.
This is a set up for a Hollywood remake. Hollywood seems to have completely run out of ideas of its own and is now stumbling along on fumes and copies -- "The Departed," "Insomnia," and who knows what all else.
It taps into many veins of American interest. Plenty of violence. A nice role for an aging (but not elderly) star on the order of Dustin Hoffman or Jack Nicholson. Lots of opportunities for razzle-dazzle directorial exploits -- negative flashbacks, fast cutting -- because of the onset of an unsettling neurological disease. And then there's Alzheimer's itself, the bugaboo of every aging yuppie who has forgotten an old phone number of the name of an old love.
This film isn't especially ambitious. It's a crime thriller and does not beg for sympathy. The hit man has a face that seems to have been modeled out of play-do by a five year old. It does what it sets out to do, and it does it with style and dash. There's a particularly ominous moment when Ledda is sitting in a car holding two honest detectives hostage. The car is surrounded by Antwerp police armed with rifles and laser beams. The dark interior of the BMW seems to be filled with little pink dots that drift across the faces of the guilty and the innocent alike. That scene is a sure target for imitation in the remake.
This is a set up for a Hollywood remake. Hollywood seems to have completely run out of ideas of its own and is now stumbling along on fumes and copies -- "The Departed," "Insomnia," and who knows what all else.
It taps into many veins of American interest. Plenty of violence. A nice role for an aging (but not elderly) star on the order of Dustin Hoffman or Jack Nicholson. Lots of opportunities for razzle-dazzle directorial exploits -- negative flashbacks, fast cutting -- because of the onset of an unsettling neurological disease. And then there's Alzheimer's itself, the bugaboo of every aging yuppie who has forgotten an old phone number of the name of an old love.
This film isn't especially ambitious. It's a crime thriller and does not beg for sympathy. The hit man has a face that seems to have been modeled out of play-do by a five year old. It does what it sets out to do, and it does it with style and dash. There's a particularly ominous moment when Ledda is sitting in a car holding two honest detectives hostage. The car is surrounded by Antwerp police armed with rifles and laser beams. The dark interior of the BMW seems to be filled with little pink dots that drift across the faces of the guilty and the innocent alike. That scene is a sure target for imitation in the remake.