It's fitting irony Pierce Brosnan's character in The Matador should be named Julian Noble.
This is the least noble character Brosnan has ever played.
Julian is a lecherous, alcoholic, bisexual hit man whose life is slowly unwinding.
He's in Mexico carrying out a double hit when he bumps into struggling businessman Danny Wright (Greg Kinnear) in a hotel bar.
Julian halfheartedly fancies Danny, but when he puts verbal and physical moves on his prey, Danny is horrified.
How the two men become friends is as wildly funny as it is improbable, but that's the joy of this dark comedy.
Writer and director Richard Shepard stretches plot and credibility to turn Julian and Danny into a bizarre odd couple.
Danny is the kind of squeaky clean guy who married his high school sweetheart and became an ethical businessman.
By comparison, there doesn't seem to be anything redeemable about Julian, who kills without mercy or remorse and lives for booze and casual sex.
In Danny, Julian sees the potential for something much darker, while Danny fears Julian may just bring that potential to the surface.
By throwing caution and decorum to the wind, Brosnan gives the comic performance of his career.
He makes Julian a crude, unpredictable libertine who wallows in life's basest pleasures.
The best thing about Brosnan's performance is he doesn't wink at the camera. He doesn't remind us he's just having fun. Rather, he inhabits Julian.
Hope Davis has several scene-stealing moments as Danny's wife, who quickly becomes enamoured with Julian's lifestyle, if not Julian himself.
If ever Brosnan really needed a role to prove he's not the suave spies and cads he's played in Remington Steele, the Bond films and The Thomas Crown Affair it's now and it's this one.
It's such a departure and such a consummate performance that Brosnan deserved to win the Golden Globe for best comedic performance. It would be a treat to see him nominated for Oscar, but the Academy rarely rewards comedic performances unless it's Jack Nicholson.
Brosnan, Kinnear, Davis and Shepard score a bull's-eye with The Matador.
(This film is rated 14-A)
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