Fake assassin comedy hits the target by gunning for old-school laughs

THE Venice Film Festival is churning out assassins at a rate that would put Henry Ford to shame. But if you think you're going to be watching a movie about a lone killer for hire, then you will be disappointed. Or you would be, if Richard Linklater's Hit Man (screening here out of competition) wasn't such a hugely entertaining film.

- Jo-Ann Titmarsh

Linklater plays fast and loose with the real-life story of Gary Johnson, a Texan investigator who worked as an undercover agent for the police. Posing as a hitman, Johnson's work led to more than 60 arrests. Here, the director transposes the action from Texas to New Orleans, a city that - cinematically, at least - usually denotes either crime or sex or a hot combination of the two (The Big Easy, Bad Lieutenant, Queen & Slim... the list is long). At first, it looks as though Linklater is only going to give us the former, but when a femme fatale comes into the picture, it's clear the latter will quickly be in the mix.