Anton Corbijn is a famous Dutch photographer, and before the release of \u201cThe American\u201d this month, he was known for his portraits of rock stars and for 2007\u2019s \u201cControl,\u201d a movie about Ian Curtis of Joy Division.\u00a0 \u201cThe American,\u201d starring George Clooney, has introduced a wider audience to Corbijn\u2019s work, particularly in the USA, where the film won its opening weekend, selling more tickets \u2013 if you can believe it \u2013 than Sylvester Stalone\u2019s \u201cThe Expendables.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
American critics, on the other hand, have not been altogether pleased with \u201cThe American,\u201d which finds a mostly silent George Clooney stranded in a small Italian village, building complex rifles with his bare hands and feeling frightened for his life.\u00a0 A.O. Scott of the <\/a>New York Times<\/a><\/em> (among others) found the film lacking in substance and significant plot, though few have been able to deny the beauty of its images (in fact, Corbijn is publishing a book of still photographs he took during the shoot<\/a>).<\/p>\n Although there are indeed plenty of shots of the Italian countryside worthy of being collected in a coffee-table book, Dutch critics have focused heavily on the erotic aspects of the film.\u00a0 Writing for de Volkskrant<\/em>, Diederik van Hoogstraten sums up the film\u2019s appeal<\/a>:<\/p>\n The American<\/em> is een trage, Europese film met in de VS onbekende acteurs. Normaliter zou die weinig losmaken buiten de filmhuizen in de grote steden. Maar een nieuwe thriller met Clooney waarin hij voor het eerst sinds jaren uit de kleren gaat? Dat verandert de zaak.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n And there is more than Clooney\u2019s bod (complete with a butterfly tattoo) to titillate viewers, here.\u00a0 Scenes that find him in bed with an Italian prostitute, as well as several shots that, as a series of still photographs, might be titled \u201cWomen\u2019s Asses in Nature,\u201d lend an undeniably sexy charge to the film.\u00a0 As Peter de Bruijn of the<\/a> NRC Handelsblad <\/a><\/em>puts it<\/a>: Een erotische film van Corbijn, dat zou iets zijn om echt naar uit te kijken.<\/em> I would have to agree.<\/p>\n There\u2019s a lot to recommend this film, including a great performance by Dutch actress Thekla Reuten, and moments that feel like beautiful still photographs come to life \u2013 rain that you can almost feel, and lots of palpable silence.<\/p>\n