New at the movies - "A Killer Romance": Richard Linklater focuses on sexy humor
Gary Johnson is impressively good at pretending to be a hitman for hire. In reality, he is a Philosophy professor at a college, but in his spare time, he earns money with the police by posing as a professional killer. He meets undercover with people who want to hire a killer. Skillfully, he manages to get them to give him an assignment. The conversations, in restaurants or other places, he records with a hidden microphone. Then the trap is sprung. Police officers nearby take the unsuspecting "customers" into custody. It's quite a dark story, but not a purely Hollywood invention. The American cult director Richard Linklater (63) has turned this "somewhat true story," inspired by Gary Johnson's life, into a witty, clever, and above all sexy Comedy.
The beginning of the Thriller-Comedy "A Killer Romance" states that this is "a somewhat true story," inspired by the life of Gary Johnson. The inspiration for the film came from an article in the magazine "Texas Monthly" that Linklater had come across as early as 2001. "What a black-humored world this man lived in," enthuses the director in an interview with dpa about the material. It's completely absurd that people try to hire a killer. With a Love-Story interwoven, it has become a mix of Film Noir, Thriller, Rom-Com, and Screwball-Comedy, Linklater explains.
Glen Powell as a Stroke of Luck
Linklater is best known for his moving, award-winning coming-of-age drama "Boyhood" about a growing boy and for his Love-Trilogy "Before Sunrise," "Before Sunset," and "Before Midnight" with Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke. He has also staged quirky, intelligent Comedies like "School of Rock," "Bernie - Caskets are his Business," or "Everybody Wants Some!!!" For the latter, about college life in Texas in the 80s, he cast the also Texas-born actor Glen Powell in a supporting role in front of the camera in 2016.
With Powell, now the star of "A Killer Romance," Linklater has hit the jackpot. The 35-year-old, who most recently appeared in "Top Gun: Maverick" (2022) and in the romance "Where the Lie Falls" (2023), can now finally show off his incredible transformative abilities.
He is the unassuming Gary, with round professor glasses, who lives with two cats in a suburb of New Orleans. He bores his students with lectures on self-realization and life questions. No one knows about his side job with the police, where the hobbyist with hidden cameras and microphones tinkers. When his colleague Jasper (Austin Amelio) is suspended from duty for a few months, he has to take over Jasper's job as a supposed hitman.
Gary thrives. With feigned brutality, he presents himself as a tough killer. The first customer who approaches him falls into the hands of the investigators. In his new role, Gary develops an acting sense, slipping into various characters with ease. Prosthetics, wigs, beards, stuck-on tattoos, and accents help him.
With sunglasses in the Aviator style and disheveled hair, Gary transforms into the cool Ron when he encounters the attractive Madison (Adria Arjona) in a pub. She wants to get rid of her violent husband, she tells the fake killer. She married a monster that has completely taken over her life, the young woman explains.
"The audience will be simply surprised"
The chemistry is perfect - Ron and Madison begin a dangerous, clandestine affair. Both play hidden cards, but they go all in. Going to bed with a professional killer turns Madison on, while Gary as Ron develops a whole new self-confidence. Linklater cleverly wraps a macabre scene with witty humor. "A Killer Romance" remains surprisingly engaging and enjoyable until the end.
"The audience will be simply surprised, and that's also due to how Glen constantly transforms," Arjona (32, "The Father of the Bride," "Morbius") pays tribute to her co-star in an interview with dpa. Powell, who co-wrote the script with Linklater, sees the shape-shifting as a message of the film. "The idea that one doesn't get stuck but determines one's own identity is something powerful that everyone can relate to," the actor says in the interview.
Linklater dedicates the film to the late Gary Johnson. He had spoken to him on the phone but was unable to meet him in person, the independent director reveals. In the end credits, the undercover detective is acknowledged as a completely cool type.
Meanwhile, Powell can enjoy plenty of praise from US film critics. The industry publication "Hollywood Reporter" recently counted him among the new A-list of young movie stars who are "conquering Hollywood in the storm." Powell can continue his ascent in the middle of July with the cinema release of "Twisters," the sequel to the action spectacle "Twister" (1996), as a tornado chaser.
- The Thriller-Comedy "A Killer Romance" is set in the USA and is inspired by the life of Philosophy professor Gary Johnson from Texas.
- Richard Linklater, the director of "Boyhood" and the "Before Sunrise" trilogy with Ethan Hawke, turned Johnson's story into a witty and sexy Comedy.
- Glen Powell, known for his role in "Twisters" and "Top Gun: Maverick", delivers an impressive performance as Gary in "A Killer Romance".
- Boyhood-star Ethan Hawke is not the only Texas-born actor in Linklater's films; Glen Powell also starred in "Everybody Wants Some!!!".
- In the movie, Gary Johnson poses as a hitman for hire in his spare time to earn money with the police, but it's all a ruse to gather evidence against potential clients.
- Julie Delpy and Richard Linklater have a long-standing collaboration, having worked together on the "Before Sunrise" trilogy.
- The filming of "A Killer Romance" took place in various locations, including Los Angeles, known as the heart of Hollywood's cinema industry.
