The Contract (2006)

Ray Keene (John Cusack), a father who wants to redeem himself in the eyes of his son (Jamie Anderson), is trying to bring Carden (Morgan Freeman), a world-class assassin to justice. All the... See full summary »

Director:

Bruce Beresford

Writers:

Stephen Katz, John Darrouzet

Stars:

Morgan Freeman, John Cusack, Jamie Anderson

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Morgan Freeman	...	Major Frank Carden
John Cusack	...	Ray Keene
Jamie Anderson	...	Chris Keene
Alice Krige	...	Agent Gwen Miles
Megan Dodds	...	Sandra
Corey Johnson	...	Davis
Jonathan Hyde	...	Turner
Bill Smitrovich	...	Police Chief Ed Wainwright
Anthony Warren	...	Royko
Thomas Lockyer	...	Johnson
Ned Bellamy	...	Evans
Gary Whelan	...	Agent Stanfield
Ian Shaw	...	Michaels
Atanas Srebrev	...	Rodrigues
Maynard Eziashi	...	Agent Chuck Robbins

Storyline

Ray Keene (John Cusack), a father who wants to redeem himself in the eyes of his son (Jamie Anderson), is trying to bring Carden (Morgan Freeman), a world-class assassin to justice. All the while, he must protect his son and evade the assassin's team who are methodically hunting them down in the wilderness.

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Plot Keywords:

river | basketball | baseball | head injury | police officer killed | 

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Taglines:

Every Killer Meets His Equal.

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence

Details

Official Sites:

Metropolitan Films [fr]

Country:

Germany USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 April 2007 (Germany)

Also Known As:

El contrato

Filming Locations:

Sofia, Bulgaria

Box Office

Budget:

$25,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Millennium Films, Revelations Entertainment, Emmett/Furla Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The nude figure climbing out of the river is not Megan Dodds. A body double was used.

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Goofs

At the barbecue, a DJ announces the radio station's call-sign as "WKGV." This is geographically incorrect. In Washington State, and most of the U.S. states west of the Mississippi River, radio station call-signs begin with the letter K.

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Quotes

Frank: I'll be coming for you. Depend on it.

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Connections

References Gunga Din (1939)

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Soundtracks

"You Thought"
Written by Frank Sorci and Jessica Tomich
Performed by Red Letter
Published by Sorci Music Publishing (BMI) / Three Degrees Music (BMI)
Courtesy of North Star Media

User Reviews

Not enough suspense

This film is about the chase between cops, assassin's associates, assassin and an ex-cop.

The plot is very simple. Run, run and run. Apart from the constant displacement, there is really not much more to the film. As a result, there is no room to develop the characters. The dialog is weak. The only line that had some depth was when Chris exclaimed that he never thought his father listened to him.

The suspense looks too artificial. Why must they climb down the cliff in pouring rain? Is there really no alternative route? The editing was not tight enough to allow the suspense to sustain. Female nudity is put into the film in such a way that seems totally out of place and unnecessary.

In the end, Morgan Freeman's and John Cusack's characters developed respect and sympathy for each other. This could have been portrayed in more detail.

The only redeeming feature is the beautiful scenery. The valleys and waterfalls are breathtaking.