The Matador is a
2005The year 2005 in film saw many new films released worldwide, including several major mainstream sequels, prequels, and remakes as well as original films.-Top–grossing films:...
dark comedy film written and directed by
Richard ShepardRichard Shepard is an American film and television director and screenwriter. In 2007 Shepard received a Directors Guild of America Award and a Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for the television pilot Ugly Betty....
and starring
Pierce BrosnanPierce Brendan Brosnan is an Irish actor, film producer and environmentalist, who holds both Irish and American citizenship. After leaving school at 16, Brosnan began training in commercial illustration, but trained at the Drama Centre in London for three years...
and
Greg KinnearGreg Kinnear is an American actor and television personality, who first rose to stardom as the first host of E!'s Talk Soup. He has appeared in a number of motion pictures...
.
As of February 12, 2006, the film grossed a total of $10.5 million in the domestic
box officeA box office is a place where tickets are sold to the public for admission to a venue. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through an unblocked hole through a wall, or at a wicket...
.
The film was released on
DVDDVD, also known as Digital Versatile Disc or Digital Video Disc,is an optical disc storage media format, and was founded in 1995. Its main uses are video and data storage...
on July 4, 2006 and on
HD DVDHD DVD is a discontinued high-density optical disc format for storing data and high-definition video.Supported principally by Toshiba, HD DVD was envisaged to be the successor to the standard DVD format...
on December 18, 2006
An encounter in the bar of the
Mexico CityMexico City is the capital city of Mexico. It is the economic, industrial, and cultural center in the country, and the most populous city, with about 8,836,045 inhabitants in 2008...
branch of the
Camino Real HotelsCamino Real Hotels is a Mexican-based hotel chain consisting of hotels and resorts.-History:Camino Real was the name given by 16th century Spaniards to the road that led to the capital of New Spain, today known as Mexico....
, between tired businessman Danny Wright (
Greg KinnearGreg Kinnear is an American actor and television personality, who first rose to stardom as the first host of E!'s Talk Soup. He has appeared in a number of motion pictures...
), hoping to land a life-saving contract in Mexico, and jaded, falling-apart-at-the-seams assassin Julian Noble (
Pierce BrosnanPierce Brendan Brosnan is an Irish actor, film producer and environmentalist, who holds both Irish and American citizenship. After leaving school at 16, Brosnan began training in commercial illustration, but trained at the Drama Centre in London for three years...
), leads both men into an awkward friendship.
The Matador is a
2005The year 2005 in film saw many new films released worldwide, including several major mainstream sequels, prequels, and remakes as well as original films.-Top–grossing films:...
dark comedy film written and directed by
Richard ShepardRichard Shepard is an American film and television director and screenwriter. In 2007 Shepard received a Directors Guild of America Award and a Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for the television pilot Ugly Betty....
and starring
Pierce BrosnanPierce Brendan Brosnan is an Irish actor, film producer and environmentalist, who holds both Irish and American citizenship. After leaving school at 16, Brosnan began training in commercial illustration, but trained at the Drama Centre in London for three years...
and
Greg KinnearGreg Kinnear is an American actor and television personality, who first rose to stardom as the first host of E!'s Talk Soup. He has appeared in a number of motion pictures...
.
As of February 12, 2006, the film grossed a total of $10.5 million in the domestic
box officeA box office is a place where tickets are sold to the public for admission to a venue. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through an unblocked hole through a wall, or at a wicket...
.
The film was released on
DVDDVD, also known as Digital Versatile Disc or Digital Video Disc,is an optical disc storage media format, and was founded in 1995. Its main uses are video and data storage...
on July 4, 2006 and on
HD DVDHD DVD is a discontinued high-density optical disc format for storing data and high-definition video.Supported principally by Toshiba, HD DVD was envisaged to be the successor to the standard DVD format...
on December 18, 2006
Plot
An encounter in the bar of the
Mexico CityMexico City is the capital city of Mexico. It is the economic, industrial, and cultural center in the country, and the most populous city, with about 8,836,045 inhabitants in 2008...
branch of the
Camino Real HotelsCamino Real Hotels is a Mexican-based hotel chain consisting of hotels and resorts.-History:Camino Real was the name given by 16th century Spaniards to the road that led to the capital of New Spain, today known as Mexico....
, between tired businessman Danny Wright (
Greg KinnearGreg Kinnear is an American actor and television personality, who first rose to stardom as the first host of E!'s Talk Soup. He has appeared in a number of motion pictures...
), hoping to land a life-saving contract in Mexico, and jaded, falling-apart-at-the-seams assassin Julian Noble (
Pierce BrosnanPierce Brendan Brosnan is an Irish actor, film producer and environmentalist, who holds both Irish and American citizenship. After leaving school at 16, Brosnan began training in commercial illustration, but trained at the Drama Centre in London for three years...
), leads both men into an awkward friendship. Noble is confronting the immorality of his profession and experiencing a mid-life crisis that causes him to freeze on a job. His bosses want him dead, so Julian flees and visits Danny at his home at Christmas, looking for a place to stay. That night, he shares the real reason for his visit: he needs help with one last job. His last target happens to be his old boss. After much internal struggle and with Danny talking him through it, Noble assassinates his old boss at a Tucson horse race track.
Critical reaction
Having been screened at the
SundanceThe Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in the state of Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the U.S. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as the Sundance Resort, the festival is the premier...
, Toronto, and
Chicago InternationalThe Chicago International Film Festival is an annual film festival that is presented by Cinema/Chicago which was founded by Michael Kutza in 1964. First held in 1965, it is one of North America's oldest film events....
film festivalA film festival is an organised, extended presentation of films in one or more movie theaters or screening venues, usually in a single locality. The films may be of recent date and, depending upon the focus of the individual festival, can include international releases as well as films produced by...
s prior to its release, the film was generally well received by critics. Early professional reviews praised Pierce Brosnan's performance, as well as the film's unique and provocative premise and themes.
Roger EbertRoger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter.He is known for his film review column and for two television programs Sneak Previews and Siskel & Ebert at the Movies, which he co-hosted for a combined 23 years with Gene Siskel...
and
Richard RoeperRichard Roeper is an American journalist and film critic for The Chicago Sun Times. He also co-hosted the television series At the Movies with Roger Ebert from 2000–2008.-Early life:...
, on their television show
At the Movies with Ebert & Roeper, gave it an enthusiastic "two thumbs up," with Ebert praising the movie as "an overlooked gem" and "Pierce Brosnan's best work to date."
As of September 17, 2007 it has a favorable 74% "Cream of the Crop" rating on
Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films. The name derives from the historical cliché of throwing tomatoes and other produce at stage performers if a performance was particularly bad.- History :...
Pierce Brosnan was nominated for Best Actor in a Comedy/Musical Film at the Golden Globes in 2006. However, he lost to
Joaquin PhoenixJoaquin Rafael Phoenix, , , formerly credited as Leaf Phoenix, is a film actor, musician, and occasional rapper. He was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where he lived for the first 4 years of his childhood. His family then moved to the continental United States, where he was raised...
for
Walk the LineWalk the Line is a 2005 American biographical drama film, directed by James Mangold and based on the life of country singer-songwriter Johnny Cash...
.
Production
Although Julian travels to
ViennaVienna is the capital of the Republic of Austria and also one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.7 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre. It is the 10th largest city by...
,
Las VegasLas Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada, the seat of Clark County, and an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, fine dining, and entertainment. Las Vegas, which bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, is famous for the number of...
,
MoscowMoscow is the capital and the largest city of Russia. It is also the largest metropolitan area in Europe, and ranks among the largest urban areas in the world. Moscow is a major political, economic, cultural, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the world, a...
,
SydneySydney is the largest city in Australia, and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney has a metropolitan area population of approximately 4.34 million and an area of approximately 12,000 square kilometres. Its inhabitants are called Sydneysiders, and Sydney is often called "the Harbour City"...
,
BudapestBudapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it serves as the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation center and is considered an important hub in Central Europe. In 2009, Budapest had 1,712,210 inhabitants, down from a mid-1980s...
, Tucson and
ManilaThe City of Manila , or simply Manila or Maynila, is the capital of the Philippines and one of the 17 cities and municipalities that make up Metro Manila. It is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay, on the western portion of the National Capital Region, in the western side of Luzon...
, the film was shot entirely in
Mexico CityMexico City is the capital city of Mexico. It is the economic, industrial, and cultural center in the country, and the most populous city, with about 8,836,045 inhabitants in 2008...
. According to the credits following the film, all bullfights were created using computer generated images. Actress
Hope DavisHope Davis is an American actress. She has starred in more than 20 feature films, including About Schmidt, Flatliners, Mumford, American Splendor, The Lodger and Next Stop Wonderland.-Personal life:...
was pregnant during the filming of the movie.
During the
commentaryCommentary can refer to:*Play-by-play commentary, or colour commentary, accompanying sporting events on TV or radio*Commentary Magazine, an American public affairs journal, founded in 1945 and formerly published by the American Jewish Committee...
for the first
deleted sceneDeleted scene is a commonly-used term in the entertainment industry, especially the film and television industry, which usually refers specifically to scenes removed from or replaced by another scene in the final "cut", or version, of a film...
on the
DVDDVD, also known as Digital Versatile Disc or Digital Video Disc,is an optical disc storage media format, and was founded in 1995. Its main uses are video and data storage...
, director Richard Shephard states that the first cut of the film was 2 hours and 10 minutes and was cut down to its current length of 1 hour and 37 minutes.
Cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|
Pierce BrosnanPierce Brendan Brosnan is an Irish actor, film producer and environmentalist, who holds both Irish and American citizenship. After leaving school at 16, Brosnan began training in commercial illustration, but trained at the Drama Centre in London for three years...
|
Julian Noble |
Greg KinnearGreg Kinnear is an American actor and television personality, who first rose to stardom as the first host of E!'s Talk Soup. He has appeared in a number of motion pictures...
|
Danny Wright |
| Hope Davis Hope Davis is an American actress. She has starred in more than 20 feature films, including About Schmidt, Flatliners, Mumford, American Splendor, The Lodger and Next Stop Wonderland.-Personal life:...
|
Carolyn "Bean" Wright |
| Philip Baker Hall Philip Baker Hall is an American actor.-Early life:Hall was born in Toledo, Ohio and attended the University of Toledo. As a younger man, Hall served in the military, started a family and became a high school English teacher. In 1961, he decided to become an actor...
|
Mr. Randy |
Dylan BakerDylan Baker is an American actor, known for playing supporting roles in both major studio and independent films.-Early life:...
|
Lovell |
| Adam Scott Adam Scott is an American actor. He is perhaps best known for his role of Palek in the HBO drama Tell Me You Love Me and the supporting role of Derek Huff in the 2008 comedy Step Brothers, starring Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly. He currently stars in the Starz original series Party Down...
|
Phil Garrison |
| Portia Dawson Portia Dawson is an American film and television actress. Her first role was in Vanilla Ice's movie, Cool as Ice. Her most notable television role was a recurring part on the 1990s sitcom Blossom as Anthony's girlfriend Rhonda, but she has also had guest spots on shows such as Step By Step, Scrubs,...
|
Genevive |
External links