We just got back from seeing The American, the new film starring (and produced by) George Clooney. We are film fans and go see new releases almost every week, so after last weeks debacle of Eat, Pray, Love (see the thread currently running), we figured it was time to see something better!
Well - not really.
If molasses oozing from a tree is too fast-paced for you, this film is probably just what you are looking for - v e r y s l o w and every scene takes its time. You can easily leave the theater, hit the bathroom, pick up some candy at the counter and be back in your seat before much happens. If you are sitting with someone, they can fill you in: “He walked to the other side of the room while you were gone…”
Although the trailer for this film makes it seem like a new Bourne film, and it does indeed start off with a bang - from there, it takes its sweet, ever-lovin’ time. Oh, speaking of which, even the sex scenes are really slow - so that might be a plus for quite a few people. No bang, bang - thank you ma’am here! Nice and slow…slow being the key word here. Reminded me of many pretentious European films I saw back when I was living in Europe - films that only a few critics and film snobs appreciated and would spend hours discussing how one character held their fork when eating.
In the fairly full theater where we saw it, one person clapped slowly at the end of the film (first time I have ever heard a sarcastic clap) and a few people chuckled and quite a few groaned and you could hear one woman say loudly, “Oh well, it was pretty to look at…”
True - nice location shots and scenery, Clooney looked pretty good in most of the shots (including a s l o w shot of him nude from behind) and, well, yeah - the film was pretty to look at.
Still, despite the trailer, this is by no means an action film.
Perhaps you could call this an inaction film.