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Netflix’s hit Man is proof that cancel culture hasn’t killed cinema

Theo

BWhy don’t they make films like HitMan more? Netflix’s bubbly, charming new comedy directed by childhoodRichard Linklater is exactly the kind of film we’re often told is unfilmable in 2024. It offers a completely whitewashed portrayal of American law enforcement. Intrusive and blatant sex scenes. And at the heart of it all is a deeply problematic romance. In an era when “Big Woke” has supposedly homogenized cinema into a kind of sexless, harmless mush, HitMan is a film that seems to break the rules. And yet Linklater’s film was a hit, both with critics and the few die-hard moviegoers who were able to see it in theaters during its (very) limited run.

It’s no surprise that people loved it: HitMan is a world full of fun. Everyone except youIn the lead role, Glen Powell plays a versatile and bee-like charismatic philosophy professor who also works as a contract killer for undercover police operations. Andor Actress Adria Arjona plays a victim of domestic violence who tries to hire him as a spoof for her husband. The two begin a lewd relationship based on a rather reprehensible case of mistaken identity.

On paper, it’s dark, repulsive stuff. In practice, however, it’s as light as a soufflé: HitMan is a clear audience favorite, in the style of Linklater’s earlier films School of Rock or BernieThe fact that the film is able to convince almost everyone who sees it speaks partly for its artistic talent: on the level of the actors, the script and the direction, this is a sophisticated and thoroughly well-constructed film. But more than that: HitMan testifies to the unreliability of audience consensus, especially in today’s Hollywood.

There are a number of supposed truisms about modern cinema culture that are endlessly fed to us. Audiences, we are told, have developed an aversion to sex on screen – a phobia fuelled by the censoring and internet-infested Generation Z. We are told that there are no more movie stars, that the likes of Powell and Arjona don’t stand a chance of anchoring major films through their chemistry and star power alone. We are told that films are distorted and devalued by the need to conform to changing societal standards – that “cancel culture” dictates that cinema is judged not on merit but on fidelity to a contemporary moral ethos. HitMan refutes all of these preconceptions. It’s unequivocal 24 FPS proof that it’s still possible to make a mainstream film that’s extremely accessible, with hard edges and a complicated (or even compromised) moral agenda.

To put it clearly: It is not good that HitMan blithely glosses over the dark facts of its central relationship – the boundaries of informed sexual consent are undoubtedly crossed between Powell and Arjona’s characters. But there is something there, a nagging undercurrent, that makes the film more delicate and perhaps more interesting to discuss. The HitMan The fact that the problematic aspects of the film are largely uncontroversial probably says as much about the general ignorance of the audience as it does about Linklater’s skill in downplaying these aspects.

When it reaches its peak, HitMan becomes adrenaline-fueled chaos. Powell and Arjona trick their way through a life-or-death ruse as enemies from both sides of the law close in on them – a consummate plate-juggling act that plays out like a breathless screwball comedy. In that moment, it really does feel like a product of a bygone era. There’s no such thing today. But of course there is. You’re watching it.

Hit Man is in theaters now and will be available to stream on Netflix starting Friday, June 7.

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