'Hit Man's Happy Ending Has a Dark Hidden Meaning (2024)

Editor's Note: The following contains spoilers for Hit Man.

Glen Powell continues to prove his movie star status, and his most recent role as Gary Johnson in Netflix's Hit Man is no exception. The movie sees him collaborate with Richard Linklater once again after appearing in his sports comedy Everybody Wants Some!!, but Hit Man sees him take the lead role, proving he has all the ingredients to command a movie. Based on a (somewhat) true story, Hit Man follows a fake contract killer and sees Glen Powell take on a whole host of roles under the guise of Gary. Powell gets to show off his versatility, and control of character, particularly as Ron, one of Gary's identities. His chemistry with love interest Madison (Adria Arjona) is a huge aspect of the story and is vital to pushing the philosophical thread that acts as the core thesis of the movie. Hit Man asks whether someone can completely change their personalities and blends genres to encourage the audience to question their ethics. Its twist works in cementing this idea and acts as the moment Gary's character trajectory falls into place.

Hit Man

R

Action

Crime

810

Inspired by an unbelievable true story, a strait-laced professor discovers his hidden talent as a fake hit man. He meets his match in a client who steals his heart and ignites a powder keg of deception, delight, and mixed-up identities.

Release Date

June 7, 2024

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Director

Richard Linklater

Cast

Glen Powell , Adria Arjona , Austin Amelio , Retta , Molly Bernard , Mike Markoff

Runtime

113 minutes

Main Genre

Romantic Comedy

Writers

Richard Linklater , Glen Powell

Studio(s)

Aggregate Films , AGC Studios , BarnStorm Productions , Detour Filmproduction

Distributor(s)

Netflix

'Hit Man's Opening Scenes Set Up the Ordinary Life of Gary Johnson

The beginning of Hit Man plays like a sharp comedy about a man who is going through the motions. Gary Johnson's life is purposefully overplayed as structured and routine. His unglamorous lifestyle is emphasized, from the subtle, indistinguishable mutterings of his students to the single chair at his small dining table. He is a man who is satisfied with his solitary existence; he is not a loser as such, but instead just a man of simplicity. He represents compliance and conformity, which, later on in the movie, is used as a complete contrast to Ron. Even his side job as a technician of sorts for the police is played in a very mundane tone, showing Gary doesn't dramatize his life. Everything is simple and orderly and that is just how he likes it.

As Hit Man is a somewhat true story, this first section of the movie is important in setting up the persona of Gary Johnson and how he is able to successfully manipulate people into hiring him to assassinate someone. Gary has an innate ability to decipher what each client wants to hear and how they imagine a hitman to be. His humdrum lifestyle is an important jumping-off point for showing how detached his outlandish characters are from his real-life persona. When he is acting as a contract killer — whose identities range from American Psycho's Patrick Bateman to a Russian monster — there is never any overlap with Gary's personality. The movie creates a clear distinction initially. Since Gary only spends a short amount of time as each character, this is sustainable for him. However, when he spends extended periods of time as Ron later on in the movie, the lines begin to blur and the separation is less defined.

Richard Linklater Says the Ending of 'Hit Man' Was Inevitable

Most of Hit Man's plot is a big what-if. Everything after the moment Gary convinces Madison to not have her husband killed and start a new life is Linklater and Powell hypothesizing on what would happen after that moment. When writing, as they began to raise the stakes of the story, Linklater stated that "the ending came early on in the writing process". The most compelling character arc was for Gary to turn into the killer that he spent the majority of the movie's opening struggling to understand. When he actually begins to converse with individuals who want to hire a contract killer, he grapples with the ethics of it internally. Johnson's life is so stripped of passion that the intense feelings of hate that often stem from love are something that he isn't capable of himself — or at least that's what he believes.

Gary's transition to Ron is the inevitability that Linklater speaks of, how he becomes capable of such passion under the guise of a different persona. The movie outlines that when Gary is Ron it almost feels like an out-of-body experience, as his character is such a stark contrast to the Gary we meet at the start of the movie. Gary describes Ron as "a doer" as opposed to a thinker. It cements him as a character in Gary's mind and makes the slow melding of the two before Ron finally takes control such a compelling trajectory to watch. Gary's interest in philosophy almost predestines this happening, with the segments showing his teaching becoming even more meaningful on re-watch. His early descriptions of the internal fight between human desire (which is called the Id in psychology terms) and moral responsibility (known as the Superego) are clearly represented by his two personas; Ron is his Id and Gary is his Superego. He discusses how both the Id and Superego merge together to form the Ego, and for the first portion of the movie, there is a balance between them. However, Linklater asks what if the Id took over, and that acts as the thesis of the movie. Initially, Gary sees Ron as a fantasy, and his relationship with Madison is separate from his "'real life," but as the movie progresses, Ron takes over.

The Twist in ‘Hit Man’ Is a Turning Point in the Movie

The climax of Hit Man, which sees Gary suffocate Jasper (Austin Amelio) with a plastic bag after Madison has drugged him, works so well because it acts as a visual representation of Ron's control over Gary's personality. Ron is no longer a character; Gary has totally embodied him. It symbolizes to the audience that Gary is no longer the awkward college professor who still talks to his ex-girlfriend and lives alone with his cats. He is stronger and more ruthless — but most importantly, he is now a killer. Glen Powell is undeniably charismatic throughout the whole movie, but unlike Gary, Ron's charm isn't endearing, it's slightly sinister; especially in how quickly he takes control of the situation and turns to murder.

This transition totally contrasts Gary's earlier mindset where he couldn't understand how someone could kill another person. Gary felt devoid of the intensity of passion in his mundane life. However, when he became Ron, he was liberated and his animal instincts were set free. Through spending time with Madison and falling in love, he starts to feel deep emotion and that love is transferred to hate when Madison is in danger. When Gary becomes Ron, he becomes what he thought he could never be. One of the most memorable lines is when Madison asks who Gary is. That question actually holds deeper existential weight for Gary himself — because as he spends more time as Ron he might not know the answer.

The final scene of the movie, which shows the perfect happy ending, may, on the surface, appear like the perfect resolution for the characters Linklater has encouraged you to root for throughout the movie. However, the whole ending is a facade. Madison and Ron are now playing different characters and have changed their personalities to fit into suburban life. They present themselves as friendly, ordinary folk who help out at their children's school. Seemingly, they are living a fairytale; all the challenges they faced throughout the movie's runtime are gone, and they can now live a peaceful life. However, that is exactly how they want to be viewed by society and their new personas trick the audience as much as their new community.

The tone is played off comedically, but the morality of their actions should be considered. As an audience, there should be an uneasy feeling about how picture-perfect their new life is. It forces ethical questions as to why you are happy for a pair of cold-hearted killers and how you have been engineered to root for them. It all links back to the themes of Gary playing the character he thought his client already had in their head about what a contract killer looked like, and the themes of morality and manipulation that Linklater threads throughout the whole movie. On top of that, it is all done with such a light-hearted tone that defies genres, making Hit Man a movie like no other.

Hit Man is available to watch on Netflix in the U.S.

Watch on Netflix