Rating:

“Quel Homage”

George Clooney has made a lot of movies I really like. “The Men Who Stare At Goats” being one of my recent favorites. In “The American” it’s pretty clear what he was going after if you grew up in the 1960′s and 1970′s. That sort of slow, introspective deal with the grandiose scenics and where every wink or nod has intense meaning that characterized European films of that era.

And he captured that feeling amazingly well. Even though all the cars and gadgets are current, the movie actually feels like it’s 1973. This is somewhat due to the locale … which I assume is Northern Italy. American movie-goers aren’t used to seeing that kind of architecture or scenery. Everything is old – probably some of those streets have been around longer than the US itself.