DVD REVIEW
 By
Neil Davey
The Matador
He’s a canny lad that Pierce Brosnan. Sean Connery took several
years to shake off the Bond image. Roger Moore never did. Timothy Dalton
and George Lazenby disappeared off the radar. Brosnan, however, has been
running a successful career in parallel.
Sure there have been some dubious choices — Grey Owl for example
— but for the most part Brosnan has demonstrated a good eye for
a script. He’s often played around with the Bond image too —
playing a sleazy spy in The Tailor of Panama or applying his suave looks
and style to more criminal activities in The Thomas Crown Affair.
There’s more of that in The Matador — Richard Shephard’s
dark comedy. Brosnan plays Julian Noble a hit-man or, as Noble prefers,
“a facilitator of fatalities”. He’s in Mexico on business
but things aren’t going well. The fatalities business is taking
its toll on Noble leaving him as dead inside as any one of his corporate
gigs.
Of course Noble isn’t the only one with problems. Take Danny Wright
(Greg Kinnear) for example. His marriage is in fine shape — he and
his wife Bean (the always fabulous Hope Davis) — can hardly keep
their hands off each other. But financially things could be better. Much
better. His business is struggling but there’s a new deal in Mexico
that could be the difference between financial security or insurmountable
debt.
Danny and Noble meet in a bar and over a few too many margaritas discuss
their problems and while they have nothing in common it’s the start
of an unusual bond between the two.
In short then it’s a classic thriller set-up a-la-Strangers On A
Train but thanks to the script and the two lead performances one that
goes off in all sorts of unexpected directions. It’s a character-driven
comedy that turns the conventions on their heads and gives both actors
a chance to shine. Kinnear, best known for As Good As It Gets, is a likeable
lead and an excellent foil to Brosnan’s reinvention as great comic
actor who in his too-tight, garish, pimp clothes is a pot-bellied delight
delivering his gloriously un-PC lines with obvious relish.
The non-PC nature of the film will leave some people cold but for lovers
of sly wit The Matador is a fine diversion.
Starring Pierce Brosnan, Greg Kinnear and Hope Davis.
Directed by Richard Shephard.
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