The Virtuoso is a 2021 American neo-noir[1] crime thriller film directed and produced by Nick Stagliano. The film stars Anson Mount, Abbie Cornish, Eddie Marsan, Richard Brake, David Morse, and Anthony Hopkins. It follows a professional assassin who must track down and kill his latest target to satisfy an outstanding debt to his mentor.[2][3]
| The Virtuoso | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Nick Stagliano |
| Written by | James C. Wolf |
| Produced by | Nick Stagliano |
| Starring | Anson Mount Abbie Cornish Anthony Hopkins |
| Cinematography | Frank Prinzi |
| Edited by | James LeSage |
| Music by | Brooke Blair Will Blair |
Production companies | Nazz Productions 120dB Films Double Dutch International |
| Distributed by | Lionsgate Films |
Release date |
|
Running time | 110 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Summary
editAn assassin is given a strange assignment by his mentor wherein he must kill a hitman. He is armed just with time and location of hitman, he must find, who really is his target.
Cast
edit- Anson Mount as The Virtuoso[3]
- Abbie Cornish as The Waitress[3]
- Anthony Hopkins as The Mentor[3]
- Eddie Marsan as The Loner[4]
- David Morse as The Deputy[4]
- Richard Brake as Handsome Johnnie[4]
- Diora Baird as Johnnie's Girl[4]
- Chris Perfetti as The Motel Clerk
- Ryan Jonze as The GTO Guy
- Shay Guthrie as The GTO Girl
Production
editFilming occurred in January 2019 in Santa Ynez, California.[5] Filming also occurred in Scranton, Pennsylvania in late March and early April 2019.[6][7][8]
Release
editIn March 2021, Lionsgate Films acquired the North American and U.K. distribution rights to the film,[9] which was simultaneously released in theaters and on VOD and digital on April 30, 2021.[10]
It was released on DVD and Blu-ray on May 4, 2021, by Lionsgate Home Entertainment.[11]
Reception
editOn review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 18%, based on 55 reviews, with an average rating of 4.1/10. The website's consensus reads, "Don't let the title -- or the talented cast -- fool you: The Virtuoso falls far shy of even base level competency in its attempts to wring fresh excitement from a threadbare assassin thriller setup."[12] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 24 out of 100, based on 7 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".[13]
Leslie Felperin of The Guardian gave the film 2 out of 5 stars and wrote:
"When it’s all over and the big twist you saw coming in the first 15 minutes has been revealed, you feel empty, a bit depressed, and like you need another cup of coffee."[14]
References
edit- ^ Lewis, David. "Review: 'The Virtuoso,' starring Anthony Hopkins, a neo-noir thriller that fails at execution". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
- ^ N'Duka, Amanda (May 9, 2019). "Anthony Hopkins, Anson Mount, Abbie Cornish To Star In Noir Thriller 'The Virtuoso'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 22, 2023.
- ^ a b c d White, James (May 10, 2019). "Anthony Hopkins, Anson Mount And Abbie Cornish On For The Virtuoso". Empire. Retrieved January 22, 2023.
- ^ a b c d N'Duka, Amanda (May 15, 2019). "Eddie Marsan, David Morse, Diora Baird set for The Virtuoso; Matthew Lawrence, Cara Santana, Harley Quinn Smith join Kurt indie". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 22, 2023.
- ^ "Anthony Hopkins visits the central coast". KSBY. January 25, 2019. Retrieved January 22, 2023.
- ^ Gallo, Alexandra (April 1, 2019). "'Action!' – film crew in Scranton". WNEP-TV. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
- ^ Coleman, Tennyson (April 1, 2019). "Lights, cameras, action in Scranton as movie crew films explosive scene downtown". WOLF-TV. Retrieved January 22, 2023.
- ^ Krawczeniuk, Borys (March 29, 2019). "Movie filming in locations around downtown Scranton". Associated Press. Retrieved January 22, 2023.
- ^ N'Duka, Amanda (March 19, 2021). "Lionsgate acquires The Virtuoso thriller starring Anson Mount, Abbie Cornish, & Anthony Hopkins". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 22, 2023.
- ^ Fowler, Matt (March 23, 2021). "The Virtuoso: Exclusive trailer for Anson Mount and Anthony Hopkins' assassin thriller". IGN. Retrieved January 22, 2023.
- ^ Santer, Kristen (March 24, 2021). "Anthony Hopkins is living his best life as a smart, creepy villain in The Virtuoso trailer". Collider. Retrieved January 22, 2023.
- ^ "The Virtuoso (2021)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved January 22, 2023.
- ^ "The Virtuoso (2021) review". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved January 22, 2023.
- ^ Felperin, Leslie (April 29, 2021). "The Virtuoso review – Anthony Hopkins on autopilot for dull hitman thriller". The Guardian. Retrieved January 22, 2023.
External links
edit- The Virtuoso at IMDb
- The Virtuoso at AllMovie
