There’s lots to love about Hit Man, the new Richard Linklater and Glen Powell movie now streaming on Netflix, but most audience agree that there is one, clear Hit Man best scene. It’s when Powell and his co-star, Adria Arjona, deliver a brilliant, layered acting masterclass via the iPhone notes app.
Directed by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Richard Linklater, who co-wrote the script with Powell, Hit Man is loosely based on the true story of Gary Johnson, an undercover cop whose sting operations as a fake hit man led to over 70 arrests in murder-for-hire cases. Though it didn’t happen in real life, Linklater and Powell imagined what might happen if one of Gary’s clients—a beautiful, alluring woman named Madison (Arjona)—got back in touch with Gary after their initial meeting. What if a romance bloomed? What if a mild-mannered cop fell in love while pretending to be a roguish hit man named Ron? And what if he started to like his alter ego more than himself?
The height of the real Johnson’s career was during ’90s, but Linklater set his movie in modern times—and he made the iPhone Notes app a key part of the movie’s breakout scene. Without spoiling too much, Gary and Madison find themselves in a tight situation. Madison has become the top suspect in a murder case, and Gary could go down as an accomplice. A fellow cop, Jasper (Austin Amelio) knows about their secret relationship, and—hoping to see it blow up in their faces—suggests Gary wheedles a confession out of Madison, while pretending to be Ron. The police will be listening in with a wire.
Gary, thinking fast, quickly types a message on his Notes app to tell Madison the cops are listening, and that she needs to put on a show to prove her innocence. (Even though they both know she did do it.)
Powell and Arjona proceed to put on a little radio play. Their dialogue, inflection, and delivery tell one story, while their expressions, gestures, and body language tell another. The result is nothing short of phenomenal. Powell and Arjona seamlessly feed off of each other’s energy. They smile and quirk their brows as they shout nasty things, circling each other like birds in a mating ritual. It’s rhythmic, choreographed dance, and it’s an absolute delight to watch.
In a recent interview with Decider, director Richard Linklater explained why he thinks the scene has become the clear breakout moment of the film.
“This scene ends up working on multiple levels,” Linklater told Decider. “There’s like three levels of acting going on. It’s so fun, on parallel tracks—what you’re saying isn’t what you’re acting, because it’s audio only. It’s a radio play. They’re acting for the hidden microphone.”
But, Linklater added, that’s just “the technical side”—the plot mechanics of whether these two lead characters are going to get away with their crimes. There’s also an emotional arc to the scene. “On the other the parallel track—which I really think takes it to another level—is that it’s also a makeup scene. They’ve broken up in the last scene. Just by [Gary] being there, she realizes, ‘This guy really cares for me. He has my back. He could have just turned me in and washed his hands. But he’s here for me. He loves me!’”
In summary, the director continued, by the time the scene comes to its glorious conclusion, the audience realizes that “A) they got away with it and, B) this couple, that we’re invested in, are back together. So that’s great.”
Perhaps it’s no wonder, then, that audiences at in-person Hit Man screening are bursting into spontaneous applause at the end of this sequence.
“I never anticipated the amount of emotional relief, joy, or whatever, happens at the end of that scene,” Linklater said. “It calls for its own little curtain call. It’s performative. It’s rare. I mean, we didn’t design it that way. But I see why it happens now. In a movie about a lot of role-playing, that’s the biggest role of all.”