The Hunter
2012100 minutes
rated R
by Scott Mendelson
The Hunter is, at its core, a probing character study of a man sent on a mission to do something most of us would consider unthinkable. At its best, it is an eerily quiet portrait and an occasionally haunting drama. Alas, it gets tripped up in outside complications, adding melodrama and apparent corporate conspiracy to its plot when its frankly unneeded. But Willem Dafoe delivers a fine star turn, arguably portraying the kind of rugged man-of-action he thought we would end up playing after Clear and Present Danger was released back in 1994 (as some may recall, most of John Clark's action beats ended up on the cutting room floor, and no spin-off ever materialized from Tom Clancy's Clark-centric novels). The needless complications are what prevents a good film from being great, while an uncommonly powerful ending stirs the soul even while leaving crucial moral questions unanswered.
