Point of No Return

AKA – The Assassin

Plot

Drug addict Maggie kills a police officer during a robbery, and is quickly sentenced to death. However, after being ‘executed’ she awakens to find herself in a government prison, and a recruit to become an assassin.

She is given training to become not just a brilliant killer, but also etiquette training to be able to fit into any place, especially high society where some of her targets call home.

She is soon ‘released’ and falls in love with her landlord, JP, but when her trainer Bob returns for another job – she demands to be given her freedom. Will she get it?

Direction

This does have an early 1990’s feel to it – especially in a couple of moments – primarily in the opening scene which feels like it could be right out of a music video from that time. There are a few great action moments – especially during some of Maggie’s assassination scenes.

Cast/Characters

Bridget Fonda is great as the wrong side of the tracks Maggie, who has a bit of an Eliza Doolittle growth after being threatened with death if she doesn’t comply with the rules during her training.

Dermot Mulroney has the gender swapped role as the love interest JP, as the soft natured caring partner who can’t understand why his partner won’t open up, and what is her secret??

Gabriel Byrne plays Bob, the man who selected Maggie for training – who becomes both a father figure – and wishful love interest in Maggie.

Notable supporting cast members are Anne Bancroft as a member of the government agency who help train her, and Harvey Keitel who plays a ‘cleaner’ similar to his Winston Wolf character he would play the following year in Pulp Fiction.

Screenplay/Setting/Themes

While an action film at the heart of it, it also has a bit of a love story to it as well with the relationship between Maggie and JP one of the key factors.

Bob also has his own feelings for Maggie – while this is only briefly touched upon, it is unclear if he loves her as a significant other, or as a father/daughter.

I liked the realistic dialogue at times, especially the jokey dialogue between JP and ‘Uncle Bob’.

I would have liked to see more of her etiquette training come out – as this was really put forward early on in the film – but isn’t really touched on much after this (or her ability to learn fluent French in six months).

Score/Soundtrack

Very prominent score by Hanz Zimmer, who delivers brilliant work. Solid moments include the going out to dinner scene (which is then done mildly over Bob’s horse story), and the bathroom assassination scene.

Overall

Another banger from the 1990s, I forgot how good this was. I remember watching this all the time as a teenager, but didn’t appreciate it. There are a couple of downs (Plot 48/Row 12), but other than that, a strong recommend.

4/5