Diary of a Hitman
Diary of a Hitman
R | 20 November 1991 (USA)
Diary of a Hitman Trailers

A veteran hitman, Dekker is ready to call it quits and leave the profession. His final job, however, proves to be trickier than expected when a sadistic man recruits the assassin to kill his wife, Jain, and their baby, but he can’t bring himself to do the job, complicating all of their lives.

Reviews
Lovesusti

The Worst Film Ever

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StyleSk8r

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

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Logan

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

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Billy Ollie

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

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Spikeopath

Diary of a Hit-man is directed by Roy London and adapted to screenplay by Kenneth Pressman from his own play, Insider's Price. It stars Forest Whitaker, John Bedford-Lloyd, Sherilyn Fenn, Seymour Cassel, James Belushi and Sharon Stone.Music is by Michel Colombier and cinematography by Yuri Sokol.Hit-man Dekker is contracted to kill the wife and baby of his latest client, but he starts to seriously question the ethics of the job..."you're your own worst witness"The ingredients for a high end neo-noir piece are all in place here, with the pic at times threatening potency to strike a telling blow, sadly it rounds out as very unfulfilling. Its stage origins are all too obvious, and the blend of quirky and wry humour with the more dramatic core of the story never sits well. Cast also come off as a little awkward, no doubt straining to deliver the goods for their acting coach director.On the plus side for noir fans there's stuff to savour. Pic is driven by a Dekker narration, and the character is in contact with interesting characters. Be it a mime artist, his psychiatrist, a kid in a tumble dryer, a busy body tarty sister or the weasel villain who hires him, the human contact is straight out of noir land. The places he goes are also in keeping, the local bar with neon lighting, the church where "business" is conducted, Jain's (Fenn) apartment, which is a bizarre concoction of scatterbrain living and mummy housewifery, or a peekaboo strip joint. Elsewhere there's an extended session of film where Dekker has double vision, this putting a nice off-kilter vibe on things, while the whole time where the pic takes place in the apartment - with just Dekker and Jain in conflab - holds considerable interest. But then there's the finale, which is so far removed from noir it may make some want to set fire to the TV...Just above average neo-noir, but not one to recommend with any sort of confidence. 6/10

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jfff7773

Good 80's flik-a classic actors flik before conglomerate studios, w/ original music + real artists on soundtrack. 1 of the last b4 cookie-cutter movies became the norm and original stories/good actors, real film-making, still got promo. Whitaker and Fenn are excellent. Her best work and his emergence as Oscar winner. A shame that 2days flix need a kid starring to get a greenlight. I hate to say it, but I miss the 'studio system'- professional writers,directors,crew,timelines,productions, from top to bottom. Actors were labor like everybody else. Most of them were from stage or were multi-faceted entertainers. Where are modern Elvis, Sammy Davis, T. Curtis, L. Ball, Gleason, M.Rooney, D.Kaye, G.Kelly, Bogart,Cagney, etc.?

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chanvat

Forrest Whittaker is superb in this taut thriller, in which he plays a burned-out hit man who is planning his last job. The job, however, is a dirty one even by his standards: he is ordered to murder the wife of a shady businessman and the wife's baby (whom, claims the businessman, is not his child, and a crack baby to boot). Sherilyn Fenn plays the wife masterfully, exhibiting a wide range of emotion from fear to desperation to joy to confusion, all within just a few minutes on camera. James Belushi plays a cynical police detective, while Sharon Stone (in her first post-"Basic Instinct" role) has a small role as Sherilyn's kooky sister, aptly named "Kiki". Instead of taking out Sherilyn and her baby, Whittaker bonds with her and, eventually, turns the tables on her s.o.b. husband. The movie was filmed in Pittsburgh, Youngstown, Ohio, and Sharon, PA, where the producer's studio was located at the time (1991). These industrial locales add a dark mood to this even darker drama, one that is vastly underrated.

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K-Ci

Diary of Hit Man is an insightful movie that goes into the mine of a hit man. This film is very emotional and suspenseful. The acting is great and very real. Forest Whitaker and Sherilyn Fenn gave great performances. This film is also unpredictable, I found it really exciting to watch. The ending is a good one, because it leaves you wondering, what will happen to the characters? Overall, this is a very well done movie!

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