The Matador (2005)

Unlikely friendships can spring up in the strangest places, like a hotel bar where a salesman meets a hit man. Writer-director Richard Shepard's "The Matador" features one of Pierce Brosnan's finest performances, in a low-key buddy comedy with an agreeably dark twist. Worlds away from his James Bond image, Brosnan is scruffy, jittery and unpredictable as Julian Noble, a burned-out freelance assassin who strikes up a conversation with Danny Wright (Greg Kinnear), a mild-mannered businessman down on his luck, at a Mexico City hotel bar. Danny is intrigued when Julian confides that he's a "facilitator of fatalities," and his wife, Bean (Hope Davis), is just as fascinated when Julian turns up unannounced six months later on their doorstep in Denver. Having lost his edge as a reliable hit man, Julian needs Danny's help with one last job. But the logistics of Julian's deadly line of work, including his dealings with his employer (Philip Baker Hall), take a back seat to Shepard's offbeat, somewhat uneven character study, which gives Kinnear and Brosnan a memorable chance to play with their familiar screen images. By making Julian a likable yet troubled drifter who has spent his life running from any real emotion, Brosnan creates a character who is edgy but sympathetic, as mysterious as he is fun to be around. If you're going to befriend a hired killer, you could do a lot worse than Julian. Brosnan earned a Golden Globe nomination, and the role is so good you'll wish for a sequel, though a movie this entertainingly quirky would be a tough act to follow.