In just four days, Glen Powell will be everyone’s Hit Man in Richard Linklater‘s much-anticipated new neo-noir romantic comedy. Before it sneaks into theaters for a limited release, however, Netflix is asking the all-important question of “Who is your Hit Man?” with a new set of character posters. Each image features Powell in one of his many disguises for the film, from a snazzy businessman to a tattooed, sunglasses-wearing redneck and a shady, cigar-chomping Russian assassin, all of which fit what his clients believe a hitman is supposed to be. Things will get especially complicated and steamy, though, when he’s asked to be Adria Arjona‘s hitman.
Linklater‘s latest stars Powell as Gary Johnson, a stuffed-shirt, mild-mannered professor of psychology who moonlights as a fake hitman to catch criminals for the New Orleans Police Department. With his gift of embodying the personalities and costumes of a reliable contract killer, or at least what bumbling customers believe is a reliable contract killer, he’s able to stop plenty of seemingly ordinary people looking to get rid of their enemies, spouses, or other targets in their lives. However, Madison (Arjona) changes everything for him. She comes to him in desperate need to escape her husband, but soon the sparks begin to fly, and they enter a steamy yet morally questionable relationship. Johnson’s deception and play-acting with Madison quickly turns their relationship on its head, however, and leads to real consequences for both of them.
Hit Man takes inspiration from an article in Texas Monthly penned by Skip Hollandsworth, whose work also happened to inspire Linklater‘s Jack Black-led biographical black comedy, Bernie. The Dazed and Confused director’s new film takes plenty of liberties with the real Johnson‘s story to maximize the comedy though, with Powell helping him co-write the screenplay in what marks their fourth collaboration. Where the feature especially leans into absurdity is with its many disguises. During an interview at the Toronto International Film Festival with Collider‘s Steve Weintraub last year, Linklater shared his favorite of the looks Powell dons, showing just how much further beyond Johnson‘s more subtle alterations in real life.
“But the best is the very odd orange-haired guy with freckles. He’s the last one, we saved kind of the best for last because he’s just so weird. When he stepped in—that was the last day of shooting, too, we kind of snuck that one—and when Glen got out of the van, I’ll never forget the whole crew, we just all went, ‘What the f— has happened? What has descended on our movie set? Who is this creature from another planet?’ It was so funny. It was just so funny.”
‘Hit Man’ Is Shaping Up to Be Another Hit for Powell
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Following its North American debut at TIFF, Hit Man has been earning no shortage of rave reviews. Rotten Tomatoes currently has the screwball comedy at a Certified Fresh 96% score with some critics hailing it as one of Linklater‘s best films yet. Collider‘s Ross Bonaime was similarly impressed with the feature, giving it a B+ and hailing it for the sizzling chemistry between Arjona and Powell and Linklater‘s ability to experiment with multiple genres in one darkly comedic package. Alongside the pair, Austin Amelio, Retta, and Molly Bernard round out the cast.
Hit Man will be available in select theaters for a limited run beginning this Friday, May 24. After landing the film for a staggering $20 million out of TIFF, Netflix will become its exclusive streaming home starting on June 7. Visit our guide here for everything to know about the film ahead of its release and check out the new posters above.
via Collider