The Matador
Encyclopedia
The Matador is a 2005 American dark comedy film written and directed by Richard Shepard
and starring Pierce Brosnan
and Greg Kinnear
.
As of February 12, 2006, the film grossed a total of $10.5 million in the American box office
. The film was released on DVD
on July 4, 2006 and on HD DVD
on December 18, 2006.
branch of the Camino Real Hotels
, between tired businessman Danny Wright (Greg Kinnear
), hoping to land a life-saving contract in Mexico, and jaded, falling-apart-at-the-seams assassin Julian Noble (Pierce Brosnan
), leads both men into an awkward friendship. Noble is confronting the immorality of his profession and experiencing a mid-life crisis that causes him to freeze on a job; Wright is fearing that a vitally-important deal will fall through and cost him his job. After an uncomfortable-at-times conversation, Danny leaves the bar. Julian apologizes and invites him to see a bullfight. During the spectacle, Julian reveals the kind of work he truly does, and when Danny is skeptical, takes Danny through the steps of murdering a portly spectator in the arena bathroom. Danny is shocked at how easily Julian can get within inches of the man, even though Julian ends the "tutorial" without going through with the murder.
Later, while at an out-door cafe, Julian asks Danny to assist him in "facilitating a fatality;" Danny flatly refuses and Julian leaves. On leaving the idea seems to be that Julian has had enough of Danny and their friendship has just ended. That evening Julian appears at Danny's hotel room, knocking on the door, pleading to be let in; Julian wants to apologize for attempting to involve Danny in his work. Danny sits within looking undecided, and the scene fades to black without revealing what happened next. There is the sound of glass breaking once the screen goes dark.
The film picks up again later, during the Christmas season. Danny and his wife are relaxing at their home when Julian visits Danny at his home at Christmas, looking for a place to stay. Danny and his wife have reservations about the situation, but decide to let him in. The grateful Julian notices that Danny has framed the ticket from the bullfight, an act that affects Julian profoundly. That night, he shares the real reason for his visit: he needs help with one last job. Julian convinces Danny to go along with the plan because Danny "owes" Julian. After much internal struggle and with Danny talking him through it, Noble completes the task at a Tucson horse race track.
On the plane back, Julian reveals that the target was his old boss (the only one he could kill to end the contract on himself and spend the rest of his life in Greece). Danny is surprised, then amused at Julian's craftiness, but is given a wake-up call when he lightly punches Julian in the shoulder and is warned by Julian "Don't ever do that again." Danny remembers his friend is still a killer and immediately apologizes. A split flashback sequence during the flight home (memories triggered by a statement Danny makes), shows what took place a year prior when Danny let Julian into his hotel room.
Later, Danny and his wife are shown at the grave of their son, something they do together every year. Julian watches respectfully from a distance, places a brochure for Greece (his intended place of retirement) on their car windshield, then slips away.
, Las Vegas
, Moscow
, Sydney
, Budapest
, Tucson and Manila
, the film was shot entirely in Mexico City
. According to the credits following the film, all bullfights were created using computer generated bulls. Actress Hope Davis
was pregnant during the filming of the movie.
During the commentary
for the first deleted scene
on the DVD
, director Richard Shephard states that the first cut of the film was 2 hours and 10 minutes and was cut down to its current length of 1 hour and 37 minutes.
, Toronto, and Chicago International
film festival
s prior to its release, the film was generally well received by critics. Early professional reviews praised Pierce Brosnan's performance, as well as the film's unique and provocative premise and themes.
Roger Ebert
and Richard Roeper
, on their television show At the Movies with Ebert & Roeper, gave it an enthusiastic "two thumbs up," with Ebert praising the movie as "an overlooked gem" and "Pierce Brosnan's best work to date."
As of September 17, 2007 it has a favorable 74% "Cream of the Crop" rating on Rotten Tomatoes
Pierce Brosnan was nominated for Best Actor in a Comedy/Musical Film at the Golden Globes in 2006. However, he lost to Joaquin Phoenix
for Walk the Line
.
Track listing
Richard Shepard
Richard Shepard is an American film and television director and screenwriter. In 2007 Shepard received a Directors Guild of America Award and an Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for the television pilot Ugly Betty....
and starring Pierce Brosnan
Pierce Brosnan
Pierce Brendan Brosnan, OBE is an Irish actor, film producer and environmentalist. After leaving school at 16, Brosnan began training in commercial illustration, but trained at the Drama Centre in London for three years...
and Greg Kinnear
Greg Kinnear
Gregory "Greg" Kinnear is an American actor and television personality who first rose to stardom in 1991. He has appeared in more than 20 motion pictures, and was nominated for an Academy Award for his role in As Good as It Gets.-Early life:Kinnear was born in Logansport, Indiana, the son of...
.
As of February 12, 2006, the film grossed a total of $10.5 million in the American box office
Box office
A box office is a place where tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through an unblocked hole through a wall or window, or at a wicket....
. The film was released on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
on July 4, 2006 and on HD DVD
HD DVD
HD DVD is a discontinued high-density optical disc format for storing data and high-definition video.Supported principally by Toshiba, HD DVD was envisioned to be the successor to the standard DVD format...
on December 18, 2006.
Plot
An encounter in the bar of the Mexico CityMexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
branch of the Camino Real Hotels
Camino Real Hotels
Camino Real Hotels is a Mexican-based hotel chain consisting of hotels and resorts.-History:Camino Real was the name given by 16th century Spaniards to the road that led to the capital of New Spain, today known as Mexico....
, between tired businessman Danny Wright (Greg Kinnear
Greg Kinnear
Gregory "Greg" Kinnear is an American actor and television personality who first rose to stardom in 1991. He has appeared in more than 20 motion pictures, and was nominated for an Academy Award for his role in As Good as It Gets.-Early life:Kinnear was born in Logansport, Indiana, the son of...
), hoping to land a life-saving contract in Mexico, and jaded, falling-apart-at-the-seams assassin Julian Noble (Pierce Brosnan
Pierce Brosnan
Pierce Brendan Brosnan, OBE is an Irish actor, film producer and environmentalist. After leaving school at 16, Brosnan began training in commercial illustration, but trained at the Drama Centre in London for three years...
), leads both men into an awkward friendship. Noble is confronting the immorality of his profession and experiencing a mid-life crisis that causes him to freeze on a job; Wright is fearing that a vitally-important deal will fall through and cost him his job. After an uncomfortable-at-times conversation, Danny leaves the bar. Julian apologizes and invites him to see a bullfight. During the spectacle, Julian reveals the kind of work he truly does, and when Danny is skeptical, takes Danny through the steps of murdering a portly spectator in the arena bathroom. Danny is shocked at how easily Julian can get within inches of the man, even though Julian ends the "tutorial" without going through with the murder.
Later, while at an out-door cafe, Julian asks Danny to assist him in "facilitating a fatality;" Danny flatly refuses and Julian leaves. On leaving the idea seems to be that Julian has had enough of Danny and their friendship has just ended. That evening Julian appears at Danny's hotel room, knocking on the door, pleading to be let in; Julian wants to apologize for attempting to involve Danny in his work. Danny sits within looking undecided, and the scene fades to black without revealing what happened next. There is the sound of glass breaking once the screen goes dark.
The film picks up again later, during the Christmas season. Danny and his wife are relaxing at their home when Julian visits Danny at his home at Christmas, looking for a place to stay. Danny and his wife have reservations about the situation, but decide to let him in. The grateful Julian notices that Danny has framed the ticket from the bullfight, an act that affects Julian profoundly. That night, he shares the real reason for his visit: he needs help with one last job. Julian convinces Danny to go along with the plan because Danny "owes" Julian. After much internal struggle and with Danny talking him through it, Noble completes the task at a Tucson horse race track.
On the plane back, Julian reveals that the target was his old boss (the only one he could kill to end the contract on himself and spend the rest of his life in Greece). Danny is surprised, then amused at Julian's craftiness, but is given a wake-up call when he lightly punches Julian in the shoulder and is warned by Julian "Don't ever do that again." Danny remembers his friend is still a killer and immediately apologizes. A split flashback sequence during the flight home (memories triggered by a statement Danny makes), shows what took place a year prior when Danny let Julian into his hotel room.
Later, Danny and his wife are shown at the grave of their son, something they do together every year. Julian watches respectfully from a distance, places a brochure for Greece (his intended place of retirement) on their car windshield, then slips away.
Cast
- Pierce BrosnanPierce BrosnanPierce Brendan Brosnan, OBE is an Irish actor, film producer and environmentalist. After leaving school at 16, Brosnan began training in commercial illustration, but trained at the Drama Centre in London for three years...
as Julian Noble - Greg KinnearGreg KinnearGregory "Greg" Kinnear is an American actor and television personality who first rose to stardom in 1991. He has appeared in more than 20 motion pictures, and was nominated for an Academy Award for his role in As Good as It Gets.-Early life:Kinnear was born in Logansport, Indiana, the son of...
as Danny Wright - Hope DavisHope DavisHope Davis is an American actress. She has starred in more than 20 feature films, including About Schmidt, Arlington Road, Flatliners, Mumford, American Splendor, The Lodger and Next Stop Wonderland....
as Carolyn "Bean" Wright - Philip Baker HallPhilip Baker Hall-Early life:Hall was born in Toledo, Ohio, the son of a factory worker father who was from Montgomery, Alabama. He attended the University of Toledo. As a younger man, Hall served in the military, started a family, and became a high school English teacher. In 1961, he decided to become an actor...
as Mr. Randy - Dylan BakerDylan BakerDylan Baker is an American actor, known for playing supporting roles in both major studio and independent films.-Early life:...
as Lovell - Adam ScottAdam Scott (actor)Adam Scott is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Henry Pollard in the Starz comedy series Party Down and as Ben Wyatt in the NBC comedy Parks and Recreation....
as Phil Garrison - Portia DawsonPortia DawsonPortia Dawson is an American film and television actress. Her first role was in Vanilla Ice's movie, Cool as Ice. Her most notable television role was a recurring part on the 1990s sitcom Blossom as Anthony's girlfriend Bambi, but she has also had guest spots on shows such as Step By Step, Scrubs,...
as Genevive
Production
Although Julian travels to ViennaVienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
, Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
, Tucson and Manila
Manila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
, the film was shot entirely in Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
. According to the credits following the film, all bullfights were created using computer generated bulls. Actress Hope Davis
Hope Davis
Hope Davis is an American actress. She has starred in more than 20 feature films, including About Schmidt, Arlington Road, Flatliners, Mumford, American Splendor, The Lodger and Next Stop Wonderland....
was pregnant during the filming of the movie.
During the commentary
Audio commentary
On disc-based video formats, an audio commentary is an additional audio track consisting of a lecture or comments by one or more speakers, that plays in real time with video...
for the first deleted scene
Deleted scene
In Entertainment, especially the film and television industry, Deleted scenes are parts of a film removed or censored from or replaced by another scene in the final "cut", or version, of a film...
on the DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
, director Richard Shephard states that the first cut of the film was 2 hours and 10 minutes and was cut down to its current length of 1 hour and 37 minutes.
Critical reaction
Having been screened at the SundanceSundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...
, Toronto, and Chicago International
Chicago International Film Festival
The Chicago International Film Festival is an annual film festival held every fall. Founded in 1964, it is the longest-running competitive film festival in North America....
film festival
Film festival
A film festival is an organised, extended presentation of films in one or more movie theaters or screening venues, usually in a single locality. More and more often film festivals show part of their films to the public by adding outdoor movie screenings...
s prior to its release, the film was generally well received by critics. Early professional reviews praised Pierce Brosnan's performance, as well as the film's unique and provocative premise and themes.
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
and Richard Roeper
Richard Roeper
Richard E. Roeper is an American columnist and film critic for The Chicago Sun-Times and now a co-host on The Roe Conn Show on WLS-AM...
, on their television show At the Movies with Ebert & Roeper, gave it an enthusiastic "two thumbs up," with Ebert praising the movie as "an overlooked gem" and "Pierce Brosnan's best work to date."
As of September 17, 2007 it has a favorable 74% "Cream of the Crop" rating on Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
Pierce Brosnan was nominated for Best Actor in a Comedy/Musical Film at the Golden Globes in 2006. However, he lost to Joaquin Phoenix
Joaquin Phoenix
Joaquin Rafael Phoenix , formerly credited as Leaf Phoenix, is an American film actor. He was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and his family returned to the continental United States four years later...
for Walk the Line
Walk the Line
Walk the Line is a 2005 American biographical drama film directed by James Mangold and based on the early life and career of country music artist Johnny Cash...
.
Soundtrack
The soundtrack was released in 2006 on Superb Records.Track listing
- "A Town Called Malice" - The JamThe JamThe Jam were an English punk rock/New Wave/mod revival band active during the late 1970s and early 1980s. They were formed in Woking, Surrey. While they shared the "angry young men" outlook and fast tempos of their punk rock contemporaries, The Jam wore smartly tailored suits rather than ripped...
- 2:54 - "El MatadorEl Matador"Matador" is a song written and sung by Gabriel Julio Fernandez Capello , the lead singer of Los Fabulosos Cadillacs, a rock band from Argentina...
" - Los Fabulosos CadillacsLos Fabulosos CadillacsLos Fabulosos Cadillacs is an Argentine ska band from Buenos Aires. Formed in 1985, they released their first album, Bares y Fondas in 1986...
- 4:35 - "It's Not UnusualIt's Not Unusual"It's Not Unusual" is a song written by Les Reed and Gordon Mills, first recorded by a then-unknown Tom Jones after having first been offered to Sandie Shaw. Jones recorded what was intended to be a demo for Shaw, but when she heard it she was so impressed with Jones' delivery that she declined the...
" - Tom JonesTom Jones (singer)Sir Thomas John Woodward, OBE , known by his stage name Tom Jones, is a Welsh singer.Since the mid 1960s, Jones has sung many styles of popular music – pop, rock, R&B, show tunes, country, dance, techno, soul and gospel – and sold over 100 million records...
- 2:00 - "1, 2, 3, 4" - Titan - 4:13
- "Manila Fiasco" - Rolfe Kent - 2:38
- "Garbageman" - The CrampsThe CrampsThe Cramps were an American rock band, formed in 1976 and active until 2009. The band split after the death of lead singer Lux Interior. Their line-up rotated much over their existence, with the husband and wife duo of Interior and lead guitarist Poison Ivy the only permanent members...
- 3:35 - "Heat of the MomentHeat of the MomentUK 7" single-Chart performance:-Popular culture:* "Heat of the Moment" was repopularized in 2005 when it was featured in the motion pictures The 40-Year-Old Virgin and The Matador....
" - AsiaAsia (band)Asia are an English rock group formed in 1981. The band was labelled a supergroup as it included former members of several veteran progressive rock bands, namely John Wetton , Geoff Downes , Steve Howe and Carl Palmer Asia are an English rock group formed in 1981. The band was labelled a...
- 3:50 - "Bahía Blanca" - Ramón Stagnaro - 3:03
- "A Mi Guitarra" - Daniel Indart - 2:49
- "Matador Theme" - Rolfe Kent - 2:42
- "One Night in Mexico" - Rolfe Kent - 2:39
- "In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning" - Dave VanNorden - 3:13
- "No Te Rajes" - Mariachi La Estella ' 3:03
- "All These Things That I've DoneAll These Things That I've Done"All These Things That I've Done" is a song performed by The Killers, and written by lead vocalist Brandon Flowers. The song appears on their debut album Hot Fuss. It was released as the third single in 2004 in the United Kingdom and as the fourth single in the United States...
" - The Killers - 5:02