Those only familiar with Stephen Frears more recent and audience-friendly work (High Fidelity, The Queen, Mrs. Henderson Presents) may not know what to make of The Hit, but it's a masterpiece deserving of much more attention than it usually gets. With the distinction of being Tim Roth's first big-screen role, as well as starring veterans Terence Stamp and John Hurt, it's a surprise that the film isn't better known, but despite the shiny cast and the subject matter that could have made a blockbuster for Tarantino or Guy Ritchie, The Hit is not an easy watch. Frears took a premise right out of the crime drama genre, and turned it into a poetic road film, a character study and a thesis in existential philosophy.
It works incredibly well thanks to the chemistry between the three leads, all excellent actors in top form who deliver very memorable performances, and thanks to Frears' sensitive treatment. The Hit is a simple, minimalistic film, and it's at its best when it's nothing but three men on the road together reacting to one another and to their own fears. The mob-movie framework gives the story its meat and its context but doesn't dominate it - at its heart it's all about the characters. It's an unusual, striking and effective film that, at its best, rivals Reservoir Dogs in its brutal and honest dissection of honor among thieves and the relationships between violent people.
It works incredibly well thanks to the chemistry between the three leads, all excellent actors in top form who deliver very memorable performances, and thanks to Frears' sensitive treatment. The Hit is a simple, minimalistic film, and it's at its best when it's nothing but three men on the road together reacting to one another and to their own fears. The mob-movie framework gives the story its meat and its context but doesn't dominate it - at its heart it's all about the characters. It's an unusual, striking and effective film that, at its best, rivals Reservoir Dogs in its brutal and honest dissection of honor among thieves and the relationships between violent people.