I think Anthony Hopkins has been around so long we forget that he can do pretty much anything and be great at it. Sure, his current Oscar-nominated performance in The Father shows that he still can make us weep on command, but it’s a film like The Virtuoso that has Hopkins being a bit scary again. Not like Hannibal Lecter scary, but like “Odin might hurl a lightning bolt” scary, and he gets to do it opposite Star Trek: Discovery‘s Anson Mount.
The Virtuoso is one of those movies where an assassin takes on a mission that has him questioning his line of work. Mount plays the professional hitman with Hopkins as his sinister boss who sends him to a small country town with few clues as to who the actual target is. Also in the cast is Abbie Cornish (Sucker Punch) who Mount’s character takes a shine to.
Also in the cast are Eddie Marsan, Richard Brake, Diora Baird, and David Morse. Damn, a lot of actors who specialize in being really downbeat. The film is co-written and directed by Nick Stagliano.
Since we’re trained to look for these things now, there is a Marvel connection here, I guess. Hopkins and Mount are MCU alums, with the former as Odin and the latter cast as Black Bolt in the ill-fated Inhumans series. Remember that one? Yeah, me neither. Basically, this is the Odin vs. Black Bolt movie you never asked for.
The Virtuoso opens digitally on April 30th with a Bluray/DVD release on May 4th.
Danger, deception, and murder descend upon a sleepy country town when a professional assassin (Anson Mount) accepts a new assignment from his enigmatic mentor and boss (Oscar® winner Anthony Hopkins). Given only where and when along with a cryptic clue, the methodical hit man must identify his mysterious mark from among several possible targets, including a local sheriff (David Morse). Meanwhile, a chance encounter with an alluring woman (Abbie Cornish) at the town’s rustic diner threatens to derail his mission in this noir-style cloak-and-dagger thriller.
