The bank keeps calling me to give me compliments. They say I have an “outstanding balance.” Today, I'm going to recap a 2010 action crime
film called: The American. In the snowy hills of Sweden, former assassin
Jack is spending time with his girlfriend Ingrid while trying to keep his old life behind,
which Ingrid doesn't know about. One morning, they go for a walk and find footprints
in the snow. Ingrid thinks it may be hunters, but Jack
knows better and gets suspicious, so he drags Ingrid into a hiding spot just in time before
someone begins shooting at them from the woods. Jack shocks Ingrid by revealing he has a gun
and uses it to kill the attacker with one accurate shot. The body falls in front of them, and Jack
searches for it while telling Ingrid to go to the house to call the police. As soon as Ingrid turns around, Jack kills
her too, because he knows his identity has been compromised. Nearby, there's a car with another assassin
waiting for his partner, but Jack finds him and kills too. Afterward, Jack hurries to leave the country
and makes his way to Rome, Italy, where he meets with his handler Pavel. Jack explains the Swedes found him and that
Ingrid had nothing to do with it, but Pavel still believes she could've set him up and
reminds Jack he shouldn't make friends in this line of work. Pavel will take care of the people who found
Jack, but he can't stay in such a big city, so he's arranged for Jack to stay in Castelvecchio,
a tiny town on the map. Using the car Pavel prepared for him, Jack
travels to Castelvecchio, but he hates it as soon as he arrives for being so small and
boring. Jack decides to turn the car around, throw
away the phone Pavel got him, and go to Castel del Monte, a more active town. Here he rents a very humble apartment and
adopts the name Edward, but most neighbors call him "The American." Jack starts a daily exercise routine, visiting
the local café, and bringing his camera to natural places because he's pretending to
be a photographer. Although he's living a peaceful life now,
Jack still keeps an eye out for any danger that may follow him, using binoculars to watch
Castelvecchio in case anyone is looking for him. This constant alert means Jack can't help
but be startled whenever the neighbor's scooter makes a gunshot-like sound. One morning, Jack's having trouble using a
vending machine and is approached by Father Benedetto, who helps him out after Jack says
he isn't good with machines. Benedetto asks a bunch of questions to get
to know him better and invites him to drink wine at his house later, Jack tries to turn
him down, but Benedetto reminds him priests see everything. Afterward, Jack uses a payphone to finally
call Pavel, who is furious with him for ditching the cell phone. Pavel still offers Jack a job, which would
consist of making a custom fit for a fellow assassin, meaning Jack won't have to kill
anyone. Jack promises to think about it. In the evening, Jack goes to see Benedetto
for that drink. Benedetto is surprised that if Jack is photographing
Italy, he isn't learning about the country's history, then he points out it's probably
his American nature that makes him think he can escape history and only live in the present. Sometime later, Jack drives to Sulmona, where
he does some shopping and watches Mathilde from afar. When she sits at a café, Jack takes the table
next to her and picks up her newspaper when she drops it as a sign he's the gunsmith she's
looking for. Mathilde gives Jack all the details she needs
for her weapon, and Jack accepts the job. He also points out there's been a guy watching
them, but Mathilde swears she's working alone. Later, when Jack returns home, he thinks he
sees the same guy in town and does his best to avoid him. At night, Jack begins having trouble sleeping,
reacting to any noise he hears by taking out his gun. A few days later, Jack goes to the post office
to pick up a very special package, the pieces he needs to start working on the weapon. The first half of the assembly goes well,
but he's going to need some extra things to build a silencer. When night falls, he decides to visit a bawdy
house and meets Clara, a call girl that rocks his world. Sometime later, Jack helps Benedetto fix his
car when it breaks down in the middle of the road. The priest thanks him by inviting him to dinner
at his house, and Jack hears Benedetto's stories about his relationship with the townspeople. He has a picture of Fabio, the local mechanic,
who Benedetto worries about because he's a good man, but he may be involved in some illegal
things. Jack wonders if Benedetto ever wanted to be
anything other than a priest, and Benedetto sarcastically wonders if Jack ever was something
other than a photographer. Jack had told him he wasn't good with machines,
yet he fixed Benedetto's car easily, not to mention he could tell Jack has more money
than a journalist should make, but Jack doesn't rise to the bait. The next day, Jack breaks his car on purpose
and takes it to Fabio's garage. Fabio, at first, doesn't want to help a mysterious
foreigner, but he changes his mind when Jack mentions he's a friend of Benedetto. Jack explains cars are a hobby for him and
wonders if he could get some pieces to fix a broken drive shaft, and Fabio accepts to
give them to him for free. While Jack looks around to find what he needs
to make the silencer, he discovers Fabio has a copy of the same photograph Benedetto had. On his way home, Jack sees Clara going to
church and can't help sharing a flirty look with her. As soon as he gets to his apartment, Jack
begins working on the weapon again, finishing the silencer successfully by the time night
falls. The next day he takes the rifle to the woods
and tests it to confirm it works perfectly. Later, Jack goes to the bawdy house to celebrate,
but Clara isn't working today, and Jack decides to leave instead of choosing a different girl. In the evening, Jack goes to a café and notices
the same guy is still watching him. The clerk brings Jack an envelope someone
left for him, and inside, Jack finds a newspaper clip talking about the bodies he left in Sweden. When he returns to his apartment, he decides
to take a different road just in case and keeps his gun extra close when he goes to
bed. Sometime later, Jack goes to the train station
to pick up Mathilde, who is wearing a different wig to protect her identity from curious eyes. Then he drives her to a secret spot in the
forest near the river that he's sure only he knows of, but Mathilde still wants to walk
around and check there aren't any footprints or tire tracks before they get to work. Afterward, Jack puts down a picnic blanket
to use as a cover in case the cops investigate the area later and shows Mathilde the rifle
he's made. Mathilde puts it together like an expert and
orders special rounds made with mercury. She's brought her own target to test the rifle,
which she does with no trouble, then she asks Jack to shoot at the flowers next to her from
a fair distance. Jack is surprised that she trusts him enough
not to kill her and shoots the flowers without even making her flinch, impressing Mathilde
with the silencer he made because she couldn't tell where the bullet came from. Once they're done, Mathilde asks for some
last adjustments and for the delivery to be made by the first of next month as she pays
the first half of the money. The bullet cases are thrown into the river,
and Jack throws some wine on the grass as part of the cover. He even takes the time to chill it because
that's how it's drunk here. At that moment, a butterfly lands on Mathilde's
arm, and Jack tells her some cool facts about that specific type. This makes Mathilde call him "Mr. Butterfly"
and asks if Jack ever brought a woman here before, which he denies. In the evening, Jack goes stops by the bawdy
house to have some fun with Clara, who also calls him "Mr. Butterfly" because of his tattoo. Clara can tell Jack has something in his mind,
but Jack doesn't think her worry is sincere and explains she doesn't have to act for him
as she does for other clients. He also tips generously, and when Clara points
out she makes more with him than all the other girls together, he confesses he doesn't see
the other girls. Jack continues to work on the modifications
for the rifle and the bullets with mercury, but he also takes breaks at the café. One afternoon, he comes across Clara, who
is going to the movies with her girlfriend. They do some chitchatting, and Clara points
out she's free on Wednesday, so Jack says they can meet at the usual place. Clara tries to get him to mention what the
"usual place" is, and when he doesn't dare to mention the bawdy house in front of her
girlfriend, Clara takes advantage of this and asks him to meet her at a restaurant. After the ladies are gone, Jack opens the
newspaper and worries when he reads about call girls getting killed. Later that night, Jack makes his way home
and notices the usual guy isn't just watching anymore. He's now actually following him. Jack hides in an alley and takes off his shoes
while waiting for the guy to pass by, then he starts following him with his gun out. His intention is to kill him, but his plan
is interrupted by the sudden arrival of the neighbor on his scooter, alerting the guy
of their presence. The assassin immediately reacts by shooting
the driver and running away in his car, so Jack takes the keys from the body and uses
the scooter to follow him. A chase begins throughout town as Jack tries
to kill this man, but he keeps failing his shots. When they make it to the road outside town,
Jack finally manages to hit a tire and make the car crash. Then Jack comes closer to kill him by hand
and takes away his gun. Afterward, Jack calls Pavel and tells him
the Swedes have found him again, but Pavel tells him to stay put and finish the job. Jack wants to know how he's been found, and
Pavel just responds Jack is losing his edge. That night, Jack has trouble sleeping because
the guilt of killing Ingrid keeps haunting his dreams. He walks even if the sun is barely out and
bumps into Benedetto, who likes to take early morning walks to thank God for everything
and ask him to look after those who are sinners. Jack points out all men are sinners, prompting
Benedetto to explain those who seek peace are much sinning in history and that Jack
has done lots of sinning. Benedetto hears about the death that happened
nearby last night and wonders if Jack needs confession, but Jack turns him down and taunts
him back by confessing he can tell Fabio is Benedetto's secret son. Benedetto admits he made a mistake in the
past, but at least he has someone in his life, unlike Jack. In the evening, Jack meets with Clara at the
restaurant. He's very impressed by how she handles the
waiter when he tries to take the order from Jack instead of Clara because of her gender,
and when a flower boy comes by, Jack buys her a flower. Clara protests because the seller thinks they're
a couple, but since Jack buys it anyway, she sees it as a good sign. She can tell Jack has some secret, but Jack
denies being married, so that's good enough for her. After dinner, they go to Clara's apartment
and spend the night together. The next morning while Clara showers, Jack
snoops around and finds a gun inside Clara's purse, making him suspicious. Later that day, he finishes the order and
buys a suitcase with a bunch of office supplies to properly hide the rifle. Now that his job is done, he can go out and
follow Clara around to ensure she isn't a spy. He does see her with some men, but he can't
tell if they're clients or criminals. The following day, Jack calls Pavel and asks
for two more days before making the drop, which Pavel grants. In the afternoon, Jack takes Clara to the
secret spot in the forest for a picnic. As soon as Clara sees the river, she takes
off her clothes to go swimming, but Jack doesn't join her. Clara also finds the bullet cases in the water,
but she blames them on hunters, and Jack throws them back. While they enjoy the picnic, Clara reaches
into her purse, causing Jack to tense and grab his gun to defend himself. It turns out Clara was just grabbing her sunscreen,
but his reaction triggers an argument anyway. Clara explains she has a gun to protect herself
because a killer is going after call girls, and Jack accepts to trust that explanation. Then Clara asks him to come with her to the
town procession tomorrow, and when Jack says he'll think about it, Clara wonders if they
can start going on dates all the time. Jack immediately shuts down the idea explaining
he can't stay forever, prompting Clara to kiss him and beg him to stay. Jack can't stop thinking about Clara's request
when he goes home and decides to call Pavel to inform him that after he does the delivery,
he's out. Pavel seemingly accepts this with no trouble,
but after Jack hangs up, Pavel calls Mathilde with a special request. The next day, Jack drives to a café by the
road to meet with Mathilde, who is wearing a different wig again. He hands her the mercury bullets in a special
can, and Mathilde grabs the suitcase too, while excusing herself to go the bathroom,
where she prepares an extra gun she brought with her. Jack notices Mathilde is taking too long,
and the other clients have left, so he's anxious and alone. With the gun ready in his pocket, Jack decides
to wait outside just in case, and Mathilde brings him the rest of the money. It looks like she's got more to say, but at
that moment, a bus full of children arrives, and Mathilde leaves before they can be noticed. Jack drives back to town, and Mathilde follows
him while talking on the phone to Pavel, who wants her to kill Jack as soon as possible. Back in town, the procession is keeping the
streets crowded. Thus it's easy for Mathilde to sneak inside
a house, kill the owners, and find a spot on their roof to keep an eye on Jack while
Pavel also arrives in the area. Jack meets with Clara and asks her to run
away with him, Clara obviously accepts, and they confess their love for each other. At that moment, Mathilde gets ready to shoot
Jack, but her weapon backfires and kills her because Jack had rigged it in advance. Jack sees this and understands they're after
him, so he hands Clara the money and tells her to wait for him at the secret spot in
the forest. Then Jack goes to check on Mathilde to ask
her who sent her. Mathilde confesses it was Pavel before she
died. Suddenly Benedetto arrives to see what's going
and Jack points his gun at him, but he's learned his lesson with Ingrid and doesn't shoot. After apologizing to the priest, Jack looks
for Pavel, entering an empty alley on purpose so he'll be followed. Pavel falls for the bait and comes closer,
but when he raises his fun, Jack turns around and shoots until he kills him. Afterward, Jack takes his car to the forest,
but he starts feeling unwell when he realizes Pavel hit him, and now he's slowly bleeding
to death. Jack still tries his best to reach the forest
and sees Mathilde waiting for him, causing him to desperately reach out for her but die
before he can say goodbye. If you enjoyed this video, don't be shy to
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