The movie starts and ends on a sardonic note, the very tone that first-time director Saul Rubinek wanted to create. This is about ordinary hit men getting their contracts done. The brutality of the killings is shocking but any darkness in the movie is balanced by the humorous edge throughout. And of course the wonderful cameos by William Macy and Ted Danson. Apart from a very entertaining script, what makes the movie an excellent watch is the top-notch performances from the cast, especially Joe Mantegna, Sam Rockwell, Maury Chaykin and Charles Durning. But this trait unfortunately is never learnt by his protégé and the latter's intractability proves to be his undoing. Tom's professional detachment is his strength and hallmark. In fact Jerry gets to be as ruthless as Tom, to the point that he even takes sadistic pleasure when whacking off his victims. But he learns to like what he does and becomes as cold and merciless as his mentor is. Jerry's induction is every bit as abhorrent as one would normally react to seeing a man killed. Young Jerry (Sam Rockwell) learns the ropes from Tom (Joe Mantegna) and witnesses his first murder in the front seat of a car. Need to dismember the body after a murder? They go for a cheap K-mart chainsaw instead of the more renowned Black and Decker brand, and get frustrated when they find that it doesn't work at first try. A respectable year for Tom means usually getting about two to three contracts done.
They supply their income by knocking off their assigned victims.
The hit men work as used car salesmen, wipe windows in the lot when free and pay for their own movie tickets. There are no fancy trenchcoats or big cigars. It is a hazardous occupation - you go on as long as you can but don't know if you'll be a target yourself one day. The art of doing well is to kill with nonchalance. The job is fine but there's no pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. But the ordinary hit man who does his job as a necessary means to a living. This is the movie that brings you into the world of the ordinary hit man, well not the machine gun tottling Mafioso gunmen we're so used to watching in the big gangster movies. Reviewed by ipswich-2 10 / 10 A Sardonic Tale of Two Hit Men
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