According to Robert Duvall’s frustrating new film
”
Assassination Tango,
”
many over-the-hill hitmen are just ordinary guys prone to
occasional bursts of murderous violence. When the world needs to be
rid of another bad guy, they wait for their cue, strike without
warning, and then go on to their real lives as fathers, husbands,
lovers and family men.
According to Robert Duvall’s frustrating new film “Assassination Tango,” many over-the-hill hitmen are just ordinary guys prone to occasional bursts of murderous violence. When the world needs to be rid of another bad guy, they wait for their cue, strike without warning, and then go on to their real lives as fathers, husbands, lovers and family men.
An interesting film on many levels, “Assasination Tango” ultimately fails to satisfy in any compelling way. It just doesn’t come together the way it should. As a follow-up to Robert Duvall’s astonishing “The Apostle,” which was thematically similar, this film should be seen as a minor step back for a major talent.
The film’s title comes from the way the plot takes a major turn in the second act of the movie. Saying goodbye to his beloved wife and step daughter in Brooklyn, John J. (Duvall) heads to Argentina to rid the world of one of those heinous dictator/general (Elviro Nessier) types. After the hit he’s supposed to perform gets delayed because the target is out of town, John J., a cultured man, immerses himself in the local culture of the tango, meeting a tango dance teacher at a club. Manuela (Luciana Pedraza, Duvall’s real wife) agrees to teach John J. the dance, and they engage in a whirlwind romance.
After passing by Manuela’s class, he’s so intrigued that he searches her out in the club. So, she doesn’t know he’s seen her in the past, which adds a layer of mystery to their relationship.
The work John J.’s sent to do also is weaved into the narrative, with the assassin doing his best to listen to the directives of his bosses, Frankie (Frank Gio) and Miguel (Ruben Blades), who he befriends in Buenos Aires.
A tough guy, John J. spouts back that the instructions for the hit may be followed, maybe not – the point is that he’ll decide, not the guys who are paying him. The only thing that John J. promises is that the job will be done, professionally, when General Rojas gets back to his home.
One of the major mistakes Duvall makes with “Assassination Tango” is that he underutilizes his family in the film, which may be intentional, but it renders the movie’s fancy closing, which I won’t reveal, as unbelievable.
John J.’s wife, Maggie (Kathy Baker), and his stepdaughter, Jenny (Katherine Micheaux Miller), are in the film’s opening moments for perhaps five minutes and are around for the abrupt end, but they’re astonishingly kept out of the story in the middle. This is a problem because utilizing these important characters would have given us insight to the family and how everyone really feels about each other. We don’t even get to find out if Maggie knows what her husband’s work entails, and how she feels about it.
Although stunningly beautiful, Luciana Pedraza doesn’t impress as Duvall’s leading lady. The film needs a stronger actress to play John J.’s second love interest, and she doesn’t provide the appropriate chops to play all of her scenes with Duvall, who of course is superb – as he always is.
“Assassination Tango” does have beautiful camera work and lush location shots, which could help the tourism industry in Argentina if the film is successful. But an art film like this needs to develop a positive word of mouth in the community before the theater sends the print back to the studio, and that probably won’t happen with this hit-and-miss film.
ASSASSINATION TANGO. Written and directed by Robert Duvall. With Robert Duvall, Ruben Blades, Kathy Baker, Luciana Pedraza, Julio Oscar Mechoso and James Keane. Rated R (language, violence, sexual themes), 114 minutes. Now playing at Bay Area theaters.
