Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
When you hear “Tom Cruise, planes, and sunglasses”, you automatically think smash-hit, right? That’s exactly what American Made, now streaming on HBO, theoretically should be, but Doug Liman’s based-on-a-true-story dark comedy doesn’t hit every note you expect it to. The story of Cruise’s Barry Seal inadvertently playing a role in what becomes the Iran-Contra Affair is entertaining as hell, and it’s a refreshingly playful take on a subject that may have been a drag in the hands of another team. Rather than serving as another vehicle for Cruise’s charisma, however, American Made acts as a showcase for supporting player Domhnall Gleeson, who nearly walks away with the movie despite his limited screen time.
If you don’t know Gleeson’s name, you definitely know his face; in 2017 alone, he starred in some five films, and if his IMDb page is any indication, he shows no signs of stopping. He’s played everything from shy and endearing (About Time, Anna Karenina, Ex Machina, Brooklyn) to intimidating and villainous (the new Star Wars movies, Mother!, Peter Rabbit), and here, he manages to find a fascinating (and occasionally infuriating) middle ground.
Gleeson stars as CIA case officer Monty Schafer (or at least, that’s what he wants us to call him), who approaches Seal in the 1970s to fly clandestine recon missions for the CIA over Central America. Schafer continues to make these requests of Seal over the years, eventually getting him to act as a courier for the CIA and Panama’s General Noriega, and a gun smuggler to anti-Communist Contra forces in Nicaragua. Schafer and Seal may be doing some extremely illegal things, but we root for them – and that’s a testament to Liman’s filmmaking and the cast’s performances. But much of it wouldn’t work if it wasn’t for Gleeson’s strangely sleazy charm – and that’s how he makes off with the movie.
We’ve seen Tom Cruise play this role a hundred times before, and it’s not that he doesn’t do it well here – because he does. He serves his purpose and chucks out one-liner after one-liner, but there’s nothing particularly surprising about him. Gleeson, however, gives us a delightfully intriguing scumbag, a young man so desperate to escape his cubicle that he’s willing to put someone else at risk. He may be an asshole, but boy, is he fun to watch. Even the brief inconsistencies in his American accent don’t take you out of things; he’s just that compelling. There’s a reason he’s got the final line in the film. After that grim conclusion, there’s no better performer to bookend it all than someone who can deliver a wink and a smile the way Gleeson can.
