The Matador
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- For the 1986 Pedro Almodóvar film, see Matador (film).
| The Matador | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Directed by | Richard Shepard |
| Produced by | Pierce Brosnan Bryan Furst Sean Furst Beau St. Clair |
| Written by | Richard Shepard |
| Starring | Pierce Brosnan Greg Kinnear Hope Davis Philip Baker Hall |
| Music by | Rolfe Kent |
| Cinematography | David Tattersall |
| Editing by | Carole Kravetz |
| Distributed by | The Weinstein Company (USA) Miramax Films (UK, Germany) |
| Release date(s) | December 30, 2005 (US) |
| Running time | 96 mins. |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $10 million |
| Gross revenue | $12,594,698 (USA only) $17,297,244 (Worldwide incl. USA) |
| IMDb profile | |
The Matador is a 2005 dark comedy film written and directed by Richard Shepard and starring Pierce Brosnan and Greg Kinnear.
As of February 12, 2006, the film grossed a total of $10.5 million in the domestic box office.
The film was released on DVD on July 4, 2006 and on HD DVD on December 18, 2006
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[edit] Plot
An encounter in a Mexican hotel bar, between tired businessman Danny Wright (Greg Kinnear), hoping to land a life-saving contract in Mexico, and jaded assassin Julian Noble (Pierce Brosnan), leads both men into an awkward friendship. Noble is confronting the immorality of his profession and experiencing a mid-life crisis that causes him to freeze on a job. His bosses want him dead, so Julian flees and visits Danny at his home at Christmas, looking for a place to stay. That night, he shares the real reason for his visit: he needs help with one last job. His last target happens to be his old boss, who, after much internal struggle and with Danny talking him through it, Noble assassinates at a Tucson horse race.
[edit] Critical reaction
Having been screened at the Sundance, Toronto, and Chicago International film festivals prior to its release, the film was generally well received by critics. Early professional reviews praised Pierce Brosnan's performance, as well as the film's unique and provocative premise and themes. [1]
Ebert & Roeper gave it an enthusiastic "two thumbs up," with Ebert praising the movie as "an overlooked gem" and "Pierce Brosnan's best work to date."
As of September 17, 2007 it has a favorable 74% "Cream of the Crop" rating on RottenTomatoes
Pierce Brosnan was nominated for Best Actor in a Comedy/Musical Film at the Golden Globes in 2006. However, he lost to Joaquin Phoenix for Walk the Line.
[edit] Soundtrack
[edit] Trivia
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Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones. |
- Actress Hope Davis was pregnant during the filming of the movie
- According to the credits following the film, all bullfights were created using computer generated images.
- Although Julian travels to Vienna, Las Vegas, Moscow, Sydney, Budapest, Tucson and Manila, the film was shot entirely in Mexico City.
- If you listen to the commentary for the first deleted scene on the DVD, director Richard Shephard states that the first cut of the film was 2 hours and 10 minutes and was cut down to its current length of 1 hour and 37 minutes.
- There are several homages to Brosnan's longtime role, that of the James Bond character, including a line where Noble quips "..that I'm a parody..". Another homage is where he is in the Mexican bar and the bartender begins to stir his drink, but then shakes it, and Noble has a far-away look while he's doing it. The closing scene also shows Brosnan reflected in a truck's side mirror, a further homage to the opening scene of almost every Bond film.
[edit] Cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Pierce Brosnan | Julian Noble |
| Greg Kinnear | Danny Wright |
| Hope Davis | Carolyn "Bean" Wright |
| Philip Baker Hall | Mr. Randy |
| Dylan Baker | Lovell |
| Adam Scott | Phil Garrison |
| Portia Dawson | Genevive |
