The Matador (2005)

A globetrotting hitman and a crestfallen businessman meet in a hotel bar in Mexico City in an encounter that draws them together in a way neither expected.

Director:

Richard Shepard

Writer:

Richard Shepard

Stars:

Pierce Brosnan, Greg Kinnear, Hope Davis

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 1 win & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Pierce Brosnan	...	Julian Noble
Arlin Miller	...	Radio DJ (voice)
Azucena Medina	...	Young Denver Fling
Jonah Meyerson	...	Ten Year Old Boy
Wiveca Bonerais	...	Ten Year Old Boy's Mother
Greg Kinnear	...	Danny Wright
Hope Davis	...	Carolyn 'Bean' Wright
Adam Scott	...	Phil Garrison
Portia Dawson	...	Genevive
Roberto Sosa	...	Skinny Mexican Man
Antonio Zavala Kugler	...	Hotel Bartender 1
Ramon Alvarez	...	Shooting Stand Owner
Luz Maria Molina	...	School Girl
Philip Baker Hall	...	Mr. Randy
Carolyn Horwitz	...	Cantina Turista #1

Storyline

A chance encounter between a travelling salesman and a lonely hitman triggers a strangely profound relationship which provokes each to act in ways neither would have imagined possible. Fate steps in to form a friendship between two men from irreconcilable worlds that will alter the lives of both forever.

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Plot Keywords:

hitman | bisexual man | gunsight | man wears briefs | man wears eyeglasses | 

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Taglines:

A hitman and a salesman walk into a bar...

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong sexual content and language

Did You Know?

Trivia

Pierce Brosnan found Mexico City surprisingly familiar. He said: "You have a working community, which is not unlike Ireland. Being Irish is like being Mexican, in many ways. The people are earthy, they have the same religion, oppression, and conflict. Both have deep pride, big hearts that can never pull us under. For me, it's been an incredibly creative time. I've been painting, set up a studio in the hotel. I've been writing, too, and that comes from work. That comes from a place of contentment, when your creative juices are flowing. It was great to feel Mexico in my blood."

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Goofs

When Julian first meets Danny at the hotel bar in one shot he is seen smoking his cigarette, but when the camera angle changes he is not any more.

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Quotes

Julian Noble: I didn't mean to weird you out. I was wrong, please. I just get paranoid sometimes. I'm drunk. I'm tired, and I've just been fornicating for the past two hours, and before that I was doing shit - horrible business shit.

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Crazy Credits

"The filmmakers do not condone bullfighting, but respect its long tradition in the Mexican culture. It was extremely important to the producers that no bulls were harmed because of the production of 'The Matador'. In no way did the producers of this film create, arrange or organize any of the bullfights seen within this movie. Sequences staged by the producers employed fake and computer-generated bulls exclusively. Absolutely no animals were harmed by the production of this movie."

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Connections

Referenced in The Making of The Matador (2006)

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Soundtracks

Sinaloa
Written by Daniel Indart
Performed by Banda La Estrella
Courtesy of LMS Records

User Reviews

"Brosnan, Pierce Brosnan," is not all you think...Matador is KILLER Comedy!!

A Note: I think it's best if go to the theater thinking, "Pierce Brosnan = James Bond." This is what I was expecting. Normally, I will have seen the trailer before going to a film. In this instance, I saw an advance screening as a part of the Austin Film Festival and had only seen a promotional photo of Brosnan walking away from an exploding car. This reinforced the stereotype I had for Brosnan. I think the distributor of this film would have been wise to promote it in this manner, feeding people's stereotypes by using this James Bond-esquire image, for I think the effectiveness of the comedy may in large measure be a reaction to what a drastic departure it is for Brosnan. And this was, no doubt, his intention.

Plot Summary: The story is about hit man Julian Noble. Noble, on assignment in Mexico City, has somewhat of a meltdown when he realizes his nomadic existence has left him with no one -- no friends or family, not even a place to call home. Desperate for companionship, he starts up conversation with Danny Wright, a normal guy, with a normal life, in town on business. Unaccustomed to normal social etiquette he scares Wright off, but pleads for forgiveness the next day and requests that he accompany him to a bull fight. And the comedy begins as Julian decides to open up to his new friend more about what he does for a living. All is well until Julian realizes his "meltdown" is serious and he is having difficulty following through on his "assignments." He therefore has to ask for help from his new friend Danny.

Analysis: Brosnan took a substantial risk in signing on to this picture. Paying him less than he would normally receive, and requiring that he sport a creepy 'stache, a pot belly and trade in his custom- tailored Armani suits for tight-fitting-euro-pimp threads, you would think he would be out of his element. It turns out to be quite the contrary. Brosnan proves that he is more than James Bond or Thomas Crowne. He proves that he can be one of the most entertaining comedic actors working right now as well. The dynamic between Kinnear and Brosnan is delectable. Kinnear plays such a likable straight man cum everyman, and Brosnan plays such a likable hit man, and the combination of the two is irresistible. Their rapport with each other is so ripe for comedy that you want it in every scene.

While the film uses many conventional cinematic devices, I couldn't help but feel as if I was watching something very fresh and original. Largely, I can attribute this to the performance of Brosnan, but it was also interesting that the film maintained the feel of a fast passed action movie, in keeping with Brosnan's most notable genre.

I highly recommend this film.

JeromeFreeman.com

Details

Official Sites:

Production Notes

Country:

Ireland Mexico Germany USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

27 January 2006 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Matador

Filming Locations:

Camino Real Hotel, Mexico City, Mexico

Box Office

Budget:

$12,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$69,100, 1 January 2006

Gross USA:

$12,594,698

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$17,356,268

Company Credits

Production Co:

Stratus Film Co., DEJ Productions, Equity Pictures Medienfonds GmbH & Co. KG II

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1