Summary
Jonathan, a man dying of cancer, wanting nothing more than to provide for his family is given a job to kill a man for a lot of money. But Jonathan is no gunman…
My Thoughts
The American Friend follows Tom Ripley (Dennis Hopper, Easy Rider) as an American con-man in Hamburg, Germany who buys forged paintings to sell over in America for a profit, but a much bigger job presents itself, a Hitman job for a lot of money, to which Tom finds the perfect person to pull the trigger, he meets a frame maker dying of cancer desperate to provide for his family before he passes, Tom befriends Jonathan Zimmerman (Bruno Ganz, Wings of Desire) and quickly tells him of the plot, Jonathan who is very hesitant to take the job eventually gives in with some convincing from Tom. But of course when dealing with such acts of crime, it never goes smoothly, and what is supposed to be an easy job turns into a violent game of double crossing and more murders, as Jonathan is no hitman, and Tom is no fool. The magnificent Wim Wenders directs this beautifully bleak adaptation of the novel Ripley's Game to great effect.
Wim Wenders takes the neo-noir genre and flips it on its head as only such an auteur can do, instead of giving the audience a glimpse into Tom Ripley's backstory or how he came to be in the forgery profession Wenders simply leaves the character an absolute mystery, only in a few snippets of dialogue do we really get a read on Tom Ripley. It makes for such a rich and rewarding film experience, as our entire view on the events that transpire are through the lens of Jonathan Zimmerman, who is much like the average man, he has a solid non exciting job, he has a wife and kids, he's just in an existential crisis and wants what's best for his family. Zimmerman is an easy character to sympathize with, as he is us, the audience and we are along for the crazy ride.
This is really the only "action-y" film Wim Wenders has done (at least pre 2000s), and I wasn't expecting the amount of violence The American Friend had to offer, and I must say that was a very pleasant surprise. I went in expecting a super introspective character study, full of sweeping shots and maybe some other worldly dialogue, but instead I was treated to an unconventional crime thriller, with a slow burn first half, weaving in between locations with ease, showcasing those beautiful shots I was first expecting, capturing the eerie atmosphere of late 70s Germany. Then after the first murder this film takes off and doesn't let go, going further and further into a seedy mob underworld, one of which our hero Jonathan is not meant for, like most of us watching more than likely. As the plot progressively gets more intense things get out of hand for both Zimmerman and Ripley which escalates to an exhilarating train action sequence that is both humorous and tense. The pacing is airtight and it leaves no room for mistakes, each scene progressing the story and raising the stakes. This is easily Wim Wenders most accessible film, and I mean that in the best way possible.
The naturalistic way this film is written is done really quite well, especially the dialogue, Wenders knows his audience isn't stupid, we wouldn't be watching his films if we were, he doesn't need to have just one language spoken, he uses a myriad of different dialects and languages to portray his characters. Ripley hardly speaks a lick of German, so whenever he is on screen talking it's all in American English, and when Zimmerman is with anyone else it's back to his natural German language. It makes for a much more realistic feel that others of this genre, giving the viewers a sense of being out of their comfort zone. It also shows just how ignorant Americans can be when it comes to other languages. Both Dennis Hopper and Bruno Ganz give wonderful performances to bring this above average thriller to life, Ganz bleeding in with the drab atmosphere of the city streets, while Ripley sticks out like a sore thumb as the cocky "Cowboy in Hamburg" whose final reveal to Zimmerman is picture perfect with a lot to say even in our modern times.
Overall The American Friend is further proof that Wim Wenders is a truly gifted filmmaker, taking risks where they should be taken, and elevating what could have been an average neo-noir thriller into something really special, something that feels familiar yet totally different at the same time. Giving us an action-y mystery thriller with brains and brute. The writing is perfect and begs the question why more films like this aren't made the way this one is. The craft and execution that went into this spot on, from a directing standpoint I wouldn't change a thing, from the slow burn beginning to the twisty action packed finale Wenders was an absolute force to be reckoned with. Beautiful yet bleak cinematography capture the tone to a tee, and is matched by near performance best from the two leads. The American Friend is an accessible film from an otherwise complicated director, but one that demands multiple views and an acute eye for detail. If you see this one laying around, I would not hesitate to pick it up.
I give The American Friend 5 stars out of 5
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