Certain things only exist on the silver screen. Explosive car crashes where heroes walk away without so much as a sore neck; romcom protagonists waking up from a night of passion with perfect hair; academics who fight the forces of evil in their downtime, rather than marking homework. But even if we know to watch films with a heavy pinch of salt, the team behind Hit Man have been met with shock, confusion and even disappointment when audiences learn that, unlike in the movies… hitmen don't really exist.
The dark comedy from Richard Linklater – co-written by and starring Glen Powell alongside Adria Arjona – bills itself as ‘a somewhat true story’, based on a 2001 Texas Monthly article by Skip Hollandsworth (co-writer of Linklater's Bernie) about how an unassuming man called Gary Johnson became Houston's most sought-after professional killer. But Johnson worked for the police, who would rush in and arrest those who ‘hired’ him.
The existence of hitmen that can be called to take out an annoying co-worker or a loathed ex may seem plausible as they're so culturally ubiquitous but… Think about it. Why would anyone risk the electric chair for a relatively small payout from a stranger? And if hitmen were advertising their services to the general public, wouldn't the authorities have noticed?
Linklater – the celebrated director of , and the Before trilogy –
