Warning! This article contains spoilers for Netflix’s Hit Man.
Summary
Hit Manhas an odd ending for a movie that primarily focuses on bloodshed and scheming. Starring Glen Powell as Gary Johnson, the movie follows his adventures as a college professor secretly serving as an undercover spy for local police officers. Gary pretends to be a hitman and captures numerous criminals before he meets a woman desperate to kill her husband.Hit Manis based on the true story ofthe real-life Gary Johnson’s dutiesas an undercover officer.
Hit Manhas its fair share of twists, and director Richard Linklater and Glen Powell both believe that it subverts typical genre expectations. In an interview withNetflix, both Linklater and Powell shared their opinions about the ending, with the director citing the final minutes, which feature Gary getting away with his crimes, as a way to escape the typical noir style. Powell believes it was a way of giving audiences what they wanted, because viewers “just want to root for love”. Check out their quotes below:
Linklater:Jasper totally has Gary. If it was a chess game, he played his last thing and said, ‘Check.’ He didn’t saycheckmate, he saidcheck. So it’s up to them to weasel their way out somehow. I just love that the guy who couldn’t get worked up enough to kill or die for anything, by the end, [he’s] doing it for love. We have the privilege of stacking the deck against the two guys who end up no longer with us by the end. I love the power of cinema. You kind of throw your moral compass in the river and just go with it. The film noir rules would be usually [that you wind up] dead, or in prison, or reduced, or [there’s] something you’ve paid for your sins. So we thought it’s kind of more darkly funny to get away with it. More screwball comedy for sure. So I thought that was a better resolution, more hopeful, optimistic.
Powell:I think people just want to root for love at the end of the day. That’s sort of the secret sauce to this, [that this] is a guy who lives a solitary existence, who doesn’t put himself out there, and you see if he’s on that path, he’s never going to meet anyone or live a fully developed life. So it’s really fun to watch this guy get caught up in all of this danger and find love at the end. And I think that’s kind of the magic: that even though there’s murder at the end of this thing, you’re rooting for the love.
Hit Man’s Ending Is Surprisingly Atypical
Gary Johnson Completely Gets Away With His Crimes
Hit Man’s extensive castis filled with characters who have been living double lives. Gary pretends to be Ron, while Madison Masters (Adria Arjona) is a seemingly typical wife who is seeking to have her husband murdered by a hitman. These double lives would typically lead to extreme consequences in noir movies, butHit Manneglects to change life too drastically for its lead characters.Gary never goes to jail, and Madison never again needs to worry about her abusive relationship with Ray.
The biggest difference in their lives, besides the growing strength of their relationship, is thatGary temporarily becomes an actual hitman. Instead of simply pretending to kill people for hire or for his personal safety, he suffocates Jasper and leaves a pile of other bodies in his wake. The characters go on to marry and enjoy a comfortable life together with children, though Madison still struggles with the events of the movie. She retains her trauma, while Gary is still able to enjoy a relatively peaceful life, having fully evolved into the more exciting version of himself.
Hit Man Ending Explained
By the time of Hit Man’s climactic ending, the story undergoes several twists and turns, some based on the film’s true story and some fictional.
Most movies might feature Gary facing the consequences of his actions, especially after initially refusing to kill Madison’s husband. In this movie, which has ample comedic moments that lessen the stakes and make the ending more palatable, there are more opportunities for peace than prison. Gary and Madison are able to enjoy their lives together, though the events of the movie will continue to plague their relationship. Those lasting but muted consequences are what setHit Manapart from other movies in the film noir genre.
Hit Man
Cast
Hit Man centers on a mild-mannered professor involved in police sting operations as a fake hit man. His life spirals into chaos when he unexpectedly falls for a potential client, initiating a series of unforeseen complications and dilemmas.
