In a nutshell: a British hit man (John Hurt) and his rookie sidekick (Tim Roth) go to Spain to retrieve a man in hiding (Terence Stamp) who's there after having testified against his fellow criminals. They improbably also pick up an innocent Spanish woman (Laura del Sol) and the four of them begin a road trip across Spain, heading for the French border.
You can probably guess that along the way, misadventures happen, and nothing quite goes as planned. At its strongest, the characters behave in unexpected ways, like the guy being kidnapped professing to a calm acceptance over the fact he will die, and that it's completely natural. This also happens to be a weakness, however, as the hit man's behavior towards the woman is completely unrealistic (and indeed, out of his established character) all the way up to the end, and his forbearance towards his sidekick who does goofy things is not much better.
The film wanted so much to be a character study while out on the open road, amidst the beautiful scenery of Spain, that it lost its grit and authenticity, which bothered me. Otherwise it's an interesting story played out by a great cast, and entertaining.
You can probably guess that along the way, misadventures happen, and nothing quite goes as planned. At its strongest, the characters behave in unexpected ways, like the guy being kidnapped professing to a calm acceptance over the fact he will die, and that it's completely natural. This also happens to be a weakness, however, as the hit man's behavior towards the woman is completely unrealistic (and indeed, out of his established character) all the way up to the end, and his forbearance towards his sidekick who does goofy things is not much better.
The film wanted so much to be a character study while out on the open road, amidst the beautiful scenery of Spain, that it lost its grit and authenticity, which bothered me. Otherwise it's an interesting story played out by a great cast, and entertaining.