The Virtuoso Movie Review – A rather dull affair
Table of Contents
My Rating – 2.5 out of 5
Plot Summary – The Virtuoso
Anthony Hopkins, that brilliant Academy Award winner and fantastic Actor, plays a rather significant role in this thriller. Why? I have no answer, there isn’t much scope for him to display his acting prowess, and until and unless he was doing the director a favor, there seems to be absolutely no justification for him to be near this film! Mind you, this film is not complete trash, it has its moments, but it’s thoroughly undeserving of his presence. The lead star, Anson Mount, is so wooden that he can be mistaken for a tree. The others in the cast are at least, better at acting than him.
Anson Mount – The Virtuoso – is a hired gun, an assassin who lives off the grid and gets his assignments through a Post Box and snail mail. He talks less and kills more and not without compunction either. Though no backstory shows his life before this film kicks off, it can be safely assumed that he has no family or any ties to speak of. Then comes a botched assassination attempt, where the collateral damage leaves him suffering from a form of PTSD, which was never the case earlier. Coming back to his isolated cabin in the woods, he keeps getting flashes of that disaster which threatens to distract him.
Anthony Hopkins is his handler (for whom, for what – don’t ask, didn’t tell) and they communicate as stealthily as humanly possible. Then he gets another assignment through the Post Box, no name, only a destination and a cryptic reference to something or someone known as White River. Off goes our hero, long guns, pistols and knives in tow, in search of his next kill. When he reaches this no-name town, which has one motel and one diner, he visits both to identify who or what is White River. The waitress (Abbie Cornish) here is the real friendly sort and emanates all the ‘Come Hither’ signs possible.
There are a few other characters present in the Diner, a loner, a couple who don’t look very familiar with each other and the local deputy who just happens to swing by. This is where the twists in the story pop up and truth be told, you can see them coming from a mile away. So much so that you’d want to scream to one character or the other – look there, you fool, there lies your answer! But that’s not to be!! One follows the film hoping that there will be one final twist to make up for the rather average journey till now.
Conclusion – The Virtuoso Movie Review
So, without getting into the climax of the story and the absence of any cinematic brilliance or thematic twists makes it rather dull and monotonous watch. Anthony Hopkins is good in whatever little screen time he gets, but there’s nothing much for him to do, so it’s a complete waste for him. The film, for the most part, has the lead actor speaking in the voice over, giving a commentary on what he’s thinking and what he’s about to do. It has as much life and sparkle in it as a box of soggy matches!
So overall, this is purely a time-pass affair, with neither any depth of character nor any depth of vision. It. deservedly, should sink without a trace and Apple TV should be rather embarrassed about this venture of theirs. The story, per se, is not bad or without merit, but the execution and acting, sort of bring it tumbling down. On a rainy day with nothing at all to do, you could watch this and doze off. Mr. Hopkins, you should have done much better than to have chosen this!
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