The Virtuoso (film)

Last updated

The Virtuoso
The Virtuoso poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Nick Stagliano
Written byJames C. Wolf
Produced byNick Stagliano
Starring Anson Mount
Abbie Cornish
Anthony Hopkins
Cinematography Frank Prinzi
Edited byJames LeSage
Music byBrooke Blair
Will Blair
Production
companies
Nazz Productions
120dB Films
Double Dutch International
Distributed by Lionsgate Films
Release date
  • April 30, 2021 (2021-04-30)
Running time
110 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

The Virtuoso is a 2021 American neo-noir [1] crime thriller film directed and produced by Nick Stagliano. The film stars Anson Mount, Abbie Cornish, Eddie Marsan, Richard Brake, David Morse, and Anthony Hopkins. It follows a professional assassin who must track down and kill his latest target to satisfy an outstanding debt to his mentor. [2] [3]

Contents

Summary

An assassin is given a strange assignment by his mentor wherein he must kill a hitman. He is armed just with time and location of hitman, he must find, who really is his target.

Cast

Production

Filming occurred in January 2019 in Santa Ynez, California. [5] Filming also occurred in Scranton, Pennsylvania in late March and early April 2019. [6] [7] [8]

Release

In March 2021, Lionsgate Films acquired the North American and U.K. distribution rights to the film, [9] which was simultaneously released in theaters and on VOD and digital on April 30, 2021. [10]

It was released on DVD and Blu-ray on May 4, 2021, by Lionsgate Home Entertainment. [11]

Reception

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 18%, based on 55 reviews, with an average rating of 4.1/10. The website's consensus reads, "Don't let the title -- or the talented cast -- fool you: The Virtuoso falls far shy of even base level competency in its attempts to wring fresh excitement from a threadbare assassin thriller setup." [12] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 24 out of 100, based on 7 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". [13]

Leslie Felperin of The Guardian gave the film 2 out of 5 stars and wrote:

"When it’s all over and the big twist you saw coming in the first 15 minutes has been revealed, you feel empty, a bit depressed, and like you need another cup of coffee." [14]

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References

  1. Lewis, David. "Review: 'The Virtuoso,' starring Anthony Hopkins, a neo-noir thriller that fails at execution". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
  2. N'Duka, Amanda (May 9, 2019). "Anthony Hopkins, Anson Mount, Abbie Cornish To Star In Noir Thriller 'The Virtuoso'". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved January 22, 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 4 White, James (May 10, 2019). "Anthony Hopkins, Anson Mount And Abbie Cornish On For The Virtuoso". Empire . Retrieved January 22, 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 4 N'Duka, Amanda (May 15, 2019). "Eddie Marsan, David Morse, Diora Baird set for The Virtuoso; Matthew Lawrence, Cara Santana, Harley Quinn Smith join Kurt indie". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved January 22, 2023.
  5. "Anthony Hopkins visits the central coast". KSBY. January 25, 2019. Retrieved January 22, 2023.
  6. Gallo, Alexandra (April 1, 2019). "'Action!' – film crew in Scranton". WNEP-TV . Retrieved September 20, 2020.
  7. Coleman, Tennyson (April 1, 2019). "Lights, cameras, action in Scranton as movie crew films explosive scene downtown". WOLF-TV . Retrieved January 22, 2023.
  8. Krawczeniuk, Borys (March 29, 2019). "Movie filming in locations around downtown Scranton". Associated Press . Retrieved January 22, 2023.
  9. N'Duka, Amanda (March 19, 2021). "Lionsgate acquires The Virtuoso thriller starring Anson Mount, Abbie Cornish, & Anthony Hopkins". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved January 22, 2023.
  10. Fowler, Matt (March 23, 2021). "The Virtuoso: Exclusive trailer for Anson Mount and Anthony Hopkins' assassin thriller". IGN . Retrieved January 22, 2023.
  11. Santer, Kristen (March 24, 2021). "Anthony Hopkins is living his best life as a smart, creepy villain in The Virtuoso trailer". Collider . Retrieved January 22, 2023.
  12. "The Virtuoso (2021)". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango . Retrieved January 22, 2023.
  13. "The Virtuoso (2021) review". Metacritic . CBS Interactive . Retrieved January 22, 2023.
  14. Felperin, Leslie (April 29, 2021). "The Virtuoso review – Anthony Hopkins on autopilot for dull hitman thriller". The Guardian . Retrieved January 22, 2023.