HOT SHOT

HIT MAN Richard Linklater’s assassin is aiming to bring sexy back…

‘They say these genres are dead but [the reaction is] wonderful’

RICHARD LINKLATER

When it premiered at the Venice Film Festival last September, critics anointed Richard Linklater’s latest film – a screwball sex-com with murder – as the contract-killer flick in a line-up that included David Fincher’s The Killer, Woody Allen’s Coup de Chance and Harmony Korine’s Aggro Dr1ft.

‘It’s really satisfying when you make something you think is funny,’ grins Linklater of the rapturous reception. Today, the naturally laid-back writer/director is especially relaxed as he lounges poolside at the Ausonia Hungaria Hotel on the Lido. ‘They say these genres are dead but [the reaction is] wonderful. I think Hollywood can be years behind the times. Maybe our times should have more comedies.’

Something of a welcome throwback, Hit Man tracks the exploits of a mild-mannered New Orleans college lecturer, Gary (Glen Powell), who helps mic up undercover cops as they seek to entrap people who are looking to hire a killer to off their spouses/bosses/enemies. When a twist of fate sees Gary having to play the hit man himself in an undercover scenario, he discovers he likes his alter ego – and also the prospective crim, Madison (Adria Arjona), who wants rid of her abusive husband. A raunchy comedy with a body count ensues.

Based loosely on an article in Texas Monthly about a real-life police dupe, Hit Man was co-written and co-produced with Powell on spec during lockdown. The film hit differently after Powell had burst into the global consciousness with Top Gun: Maverick. If that charismatic support turn as Lt. Jake ‘Hangman’ Seresin felt like a calling card, this lead role, along with his winning antics alongside Sydney Sweeney in romcom Anyone But You, feels like a flex for stardom.

Linklater is not remotely surprised, having first worked with him on Fast Food Nation, when Powell was a teen, then again on Everybody Wants Some!!. ‘We have so many stars based on nothing, you know?’ he says. ‘YouTube channel sensations… But anybody who’s been around Glen or worked with him over the last 10 years, knows he’s a star. Nothing he could do moving forward would surprise me.’

Powell’s vie for internet-boyfriend status is helped by the searing chemistry he creates with Arjona. Linklater says he didn’t do a chemistry read with the duo, but rather sent them out for drinks at 3pm to see if they’d gel.

‘They sat down for an hour’s meeting and four or five hours later, they were still sitting there talking,’ he recalls. ‘I was like, “OK, we’re going to be good here!”’ And as someone who’s worked with romcom king Matthew McConaughey over the years, the director chuckles at the suggestion that there may be a handing over of the crown from one Texan to another. ‘They’ve been around each other,’ he says. ‘I don’t think it’s anything official, but…’