The Virtuoso (film)

{{Infobox film

|name = The Virtuoso

|image = The Virtuoso poster.jpg

|caption = Theatrical release poster

|director = Nick Stagliano

|writer = James C. Wolf

|producer = Nick Stagliano

|starring = Anson Mount
Abbie Cornish
Anthony Hopkins

|cinematography = Frank Prinzi

|editing = James LeSage

|music = Brooke Blair
Will Blair

|studio = Nazz Productions
120dB Films
Double Dutch International

|distributor = Lionsgate Films

|released = {{Film date|2021|4|30}}

|runtime = 110 minutes

|country = United States

|language = English

}}

The Virtuoso is a 2021 American neo-noir{{cite news|last=Lewis|first=David|title=Review: 'The Virtuoso,' starring Anthony Hopkins, a neo-noir thriller that fails at execution|newspaper=San Francisco Chronicle|url=https://datebook.sfchronicle.com/movies-tv/review-the-virtuoso-starring-anthony-hopkins-a-neo-noir-thriller-that-fails-at-execution/amp|accessdate=February 19, 2024}} 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.{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2019/05/anthony-hopkins-anson-mount-abbie-cornish-the-virtuoso-cannes-1202610744/|title=Anthony Hopkins, Anson Mount, Abbie Cornish To Star In Noir Thriller 'The Virtuoso'|last=N'Duka|first=Amanda|date=May 9, 2019|website=Deadline Hollywood|access-date=January 22, 2023}}{{cite web|url=https://www.empireonline.com/movies/news/anthony-hopkins-anson-mount-abbie-cornish-virtuoso/|title=Anthony Hopkins, Anson Mount And Abbie Cornish On For The Virtuoso|last=White|first=James|date=May 10, 2019|website=Empire|access-date=January 22, 2023}}

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

{{cast listing|

Anson Mount as The Virtuoso
Abbie Cornish as The Waitress
Anthony Hopkins as The Mentor
Eddie Marsan as The Loner{{cite web|last=N'Duka|first=Amanda|date=May 15, 2019|title=Eddie Marsan, David Morse, Diora Baird set for The Virtuoso; Matthew Lawrence, Cara Santana, Harley Quinn Smith join Kurt indie|website=Deadline Hollywood|url=https://deadline.com/2019/05/eddie-marsan-david-morse-diora-baird-the-virtuoso-matthew-lawrence-cara-santana-harley-quinn-smith-kurt-indie-1202615611/|access-date=January 22, 2023}}
David Morse as The Deputy
Richard Brake as Handsome Johnnie
Diora Baird as Johnnie's Girl
Chris Perfetti as The Motel Clerk
Ryan Jonze as The GTO Guy
Shay Guthrie as The GTO Girl

}}

Production

Filming occurred in January 2019 in Santa Ynez, California.{{cite web|title=Anthony Hopkins visits the central coast|date=January 25, 2019|publisher=KSBY|access-date=January 22, 2023|url=https://www.ksby.com/news/local-news/2019/01/25/anthony-hopkins-visits-the-central-coast}} Filming also occurred in Scranton, Pennsylvania in late March and early April 2019.{{cite web|last=Gallo|first=Alexandra|title='Action!' – film crew in Scranton|date=April 1, 2019|publisher=WNEP-TV|url=https://www.wnep.com/article/news/local/lackawanna-county/action-film-crew-in-scranton/523-abe21adb-53cf-419b-8734-666e471c24cb |access-date=September 20, 2020}}{{cite web|last=Coleman|first=Tennyson|title=Lights, cameras, action in Scranton as movie crew films explosive scene downtown|date=April 1, 2019|publisher=WOLF-TV|url=https://fox56.com/news/local/lights-cameras-action-in-scranton-as-movie-crew-films-explosive-scene-downtown|access-date=January 22, 2023}}{{cite web|last=Krawczeniuk|first=Borys|date=March 29, 2019 |title=Movie filming in locations around downtown Scranton|work=Associated Press|url=https://apnews.com/ab4ec1e8fa354a208c194e033bb4ce7c|access-date=January 22, 2023}}

Release

In March 2021, Lionsgate Films acquired the North American and U.K. distribution rights to the film,{{cite web|last=N'Duka|first=Amanda|title=Lionsgate acquires The Virtuoso thriller starring Anson Mount, Abbie Cornish, & Anthony Hopkins|date=March 19, 2021|website=Deadline Hollywood|url=https://deadline.com/2021/03/lionsgate-acquires-the-virtuoso-anson-mount-abbie-cornish-anthony-hopkins-1234718225/amp/|access-date=January 22, 2023}} which was simultaneously released in theaters and on VOD and digital on April 30, 2021.{{cite web|last=Fowler|first=Matt|date=March 23, 2021|title=The Virtuoso: Exclusive trailer for Anson Mount and Anthony Hopkins' assassin thriller|website=IGN|url=https://www.ign.com/articles/the-virtuoso-exclusive-trailer-for-anthony-hopkins-assassin-thriller|access-date=January 22, 2023}}

It was released on DVD and Blu-ray on May 4, 2021, by Lionsgate Home Entertainment.{{cite web|last=Santer|first=Kristen|title=Anthony Hopkins is living his best life as a smart, creepy villain in The Virtuoso trailer|website=Collider|date=March 24, 2021|url=https://collider.com/anthony-hopkins-the-virtuoso-trailer-anson-mount/amp/|access-date=January 22, 2023}}

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."{{cite web|title=The Virtuoso (2021)|website=Rotten Tomatoes|publisher=Fandango|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_virtuoso|access-date=January 22, 2023}} On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 24 out of 100, based on 7 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".{{cite web|title=The Virtuoso (2021) review|website=Metacritic|publisher=CBS Interactive|url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-virtuoso|access-date=January 22, 2023}}

Leslie Felperin of The Guardian gave the film 2 out of 5 stars and wrote: {{blockquote|"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."{{cite news|title=The Virtuoso review – Anthony Hopkins on autopilot for dull hitman thriller|date=April 29, 2021|newspaper=The Guardian|last=Felperin|first=Leslie|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/apr/29/anthony-hopkins-the-virtuoso-review-hitman-thriller|access-date=January 22, 2023}}}}