The Assignment (2016)

After waking up and discovering that he has undergone gender reassignment surgery, an assassin seeks to find the doctor responsible.

Director:

Walter Hill

Writers:

Walter Hill (screenplay), Denis Hamill (screenplay)

Stars:

Michelle Rodriguez, Tony Shalhoub, Anthony LaPaglia

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Michelle Rodriguez	...	Frank Kitchen
Tony Shalhoub	...	Dr. Ralph Galen
Anthony LaPaglia	...	Honest John
Caitlin Gerard	...	Johnnie
Ken Kirzinger	...	Nurse Becker
Darryl Quon	...	Jin Tao
Brent Langdon	...	Dr. Turley
Sigourney Weaver	...	Doctor Rachel Jane
Caroline Chan	...	Ting Li
Adrian Hough	...	Sebastian Jane
John Callander	...	Hotel Manager
Bill Croft	...	Earl Hawkins
Terry Chen	...	Doctor Lin
Zak Santiago	...	Lawyer
Ellie Harvie	...	Office Nurse

Storyline

Following an ace assassin who is double crossed by gangsters and falls into the hands of rogue surgeon known as The Doctor who turns him into a woman. The hitman now a hitwoman sets out for revenge, aided by a nurse named Johnnie who also has secrets.

---

Plot Keywords:

male full frontal nudity | bandaged face | woman in a straight jacket | interrogation | snorting cocaine | 

---

Taglines:

One job changed it all.

---

Genres:

Action | Crime | Thriller

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for graphic nudity, violence, sexuality, language and drug use

Did You Know?

Trivia

Michelle Rodriguez first lead role since Girlfight (2000).

---

Goofs

The movie is takes place in San Francisco. At around 30:45, after Frank leaves the hotel, is a scene with Frank crossing a road toward a Chinese restaurant. In real life, the restaurant is Kent's Kitchen at 232 Keefer St. in Vancouver. The phone number for Kent's is clearly visible on the sign, "Tel: [phone]" as well as the Keefer St. address. 604 is the area code of Vancouver, not San Francisco.

---

Quotes

[first lines]
Frank Kitchen: I killed a lot of guys. They were worthless pieces of shit, but I killed them, and you're not supposed to kill people. So what happened to me? I guess maybe in the end... it was a lot better than what I deserved. But it takes a long time to work that out. In the meantime, you just want to get get even.

---

Soundtracks

Tomboy
Written by Raney Shockne, Melissa Reese and Derek Whitacre
Performed by Melissa Reese and Raney Shockne

User Reviews

Cult movie from the director of "the Warriors"

I don't understand why this film gets such poor reviews. Sure, Sigourney Weavers' weren't the best lines she has ever spoken in front of a camera, but, all in all, I thought "the Assignment" was a decent old school action movie, directed by Walter Hill (of "the Warriors" fame). I felt like Michelle Rodriguez did a credible job as a transgender to the point where, like another reviewer on this website mentioned, I found myself thinking of her as a man, even during the nude scenes, and I thought her performance while she comes to terms with what has happened to her to be very much how I imagine I would feel myself if I would wake up a woman one day. Of course, this is not a psychological drama but an action movie, so the main focus is on that and I thought Walter Hill did a very good job creating a dark, gritty atmosphere, which, combined with a synthesizer soundtrack that reminded me of John Carpenter, plenty of nudity and Michelle Rodriguez' biker jacket to turn this movie into an instant cult classic.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Japan]

Country:

France Canada USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 March 2017 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Assignment

Filming Locations:

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$5,000,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$388,789

Company Credits

Production Co:

SBS Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1