Synopsis
A weary traveling salesman in Mexico City meets Julian Noble, a flamboyant and emotionally unraveling professional hitman. Their uneasy encounter develops into an unlikely friendship when Julian asks Danny to help with one final assignment. As Danny is drawn into Julian's dangerous world, both men confront fear, guilt, loneliness, and the possibility of changing their lives.
Factoids & Trivia
- Although Julian's work takes him to locations including Vienna, Las Vegas, Moscow, Sydney, Budapest, Tucson, and Manila, the production filmed entirely in Mexico City.
- Writer Richard Shepard originally imagined the screenplay as a roughly $200,000 digital-video project. It reached Pierce Brosnan after being submitted as a writing sample for another project.
- Brosnan's appearance was deliberately designed to move away from his polished James Bond image. Julian Noble was given a crew cut and mustache, reinforcing the character's aging, disheveled, and unstable personality.
- The production's first cut ran approximately two hours and ten minutes before being substantially reduced for release.
- The bullfighting material includes a disclaimer stating that the filmmakers did not condone bullfighting and that no bulls were harmed. Staged sequences used fake or computer-generated animals.
- The film premiered at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival before its U.S. theatrical release on December 30, 2005.
- Brosnan's performance earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy.