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Released by: Well Go USA
Released on: March 5, 2013.
Director: Perry Bhandal
Cast: Luke Goss, Stephen Marcus, Elliot Greene, Danny Midwinter
Year: 2012
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The Movie:
The debut feature from filmmaker Perry Bhandal who both wrote and directed the movie, 2012's Interview With A Hitman tells the story of a paid killer named Viktor (Luke Goss). We learn that he's decided it's time to tell his story and through this framework we learn of his past as it catches up to his present only to obviously affect his future.
Viktor grew up in Bucharest the son of a man with a gambling problem and as men with gambling problems are apt to do, his father wound up owing more money to some local gangster than he could ever realistically pay back. His father is put down and Viktor joins the mob, quickly working his way up the ladder and learning the importance of being able to follow orders. Things get tricky for him when he is betrayed by one of his own, and in order to avoid further complications by hoping to smooth things over he instead fakes his own death and relocates to London. Being incredibly good at what he does, Viktor soon finds work with some new employers and once again proves to be the best in the business.
Viktor's past in Bucharest, however, is not something he can simply walk away from. It stands to reason that his former employers will find out about the trick he pulled and head to London in search of him, and that's exactly what happens and when it does, Viktor is forced to try to look for a way out of all of this.
Remarkably grim, Interview With A Hitman passes over the glamorous side of the assassin's life as seen countless times in hundreds of movies made prior to this one and instead focuses more on the reality of a life where death is a constant. Not only does Viktor dish out more than his fair share of executions but so too does he have to face up to the fact that his own death potentially lies only seconds away. As the Romanian gangsters who gave him his start begin to give chase, the movie becomes a hard edged tale of kill or be killed and Viktor becomes increasingly devoid of emotion. This makes him hard to sympathize with, and while he's hardly painted as a good guy, we are supposed to want him to get away from those who would take him out of the picture permanently. A little more character development for Viktor, maybe a few little glances inside his head to let us feel what he feels, would have helped and we don't really get much of that. It hurts the movie.
What we do get, however, is some slick low budget filmmaking that makes the most of the cast and crew and which uses some choice location shooting to build atmosphere nicely. Goss is excellent in the role, he plays the heartless killer rather well and was an excellent casting choice for the lead. He carries the film nicely. As far as the story goes, it's grim, sometimes shockingly violent and one which offers no easy answers. It raises more questions than it ever intends to answer and sometimes takes its rampant bloodshed to excess. At the same time, it's engrossing and interesting - not perfect, but an impressive feature debut and one which should certainly lead to bigger things for its director.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Shot on high grade professional digital video cameras, the transfer on this AVC encoded 1080p high definition release frames the movie at 1.85.1 widescreen and it looks excellent. As you'd expect, there's no dirt or debris here (one of the benefits of a digital to digital transfer) and detail is generally outstanding. Colors are nicely reproduced and look quite natural most of the time even if they are a little on the bleak side in terms of style. Black levels are strong throughout and contrast is solid. No complaints here, this is an excellent looking transfer from Well Go USA.
The English language DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio mix is also very strong. Though you'd think that this might be one of those tracks that beats you over the head with shoots outs and action sequences, it's actually a fair bit more calculated than that. Yes, there are moments of intense surround activity but more often than that the film relies on a more subdued mix. There are stretches here without any action that are instead more dialogue and mood based - pay attention during this more restrained moments and you'll pick up on some subtle but effective use of the surrounds which all goes towards building some welcome ambience and atmosphere in these scenes. There are no alternate language options but optional English subtitles are available.
There isn't a whole lot here in terms of extra features though a fourteen minute Making Of Interview With a Hitman featurette includes some cast and crew interviews and behind the scenes footage, making it worth checking out. Aside from that? We get a trailer for the feature, menus and chapter stops. Trailers for a few unrelated Well Go USA properties play before the main menu screen loads and the disc comes with a slipcase featuring artwork identical to the cover sleeve.
The Final Word:
A film that is as smart and thought provoking as it is tense and violent, Interview With A Hitman isn't quite a flawless masterpiece but for a debut feature made on a modest budget, it gets a whole lot more right than wrong. This is one worth checking out and Well Go USA's Blu-ray, while light on extras, offers up the film in excellent shape and with very impressive audio and video quality.
No screen caps, because our disc got scratched, but here's a trailer!
