Every year there are a handful of films that seem like such obvious Oscar-fodder:  great casts, compelling stories, good source material, well known and respected writers and directors… and then something just doesn’t quite gel in the filmmaking process and it never quite comes together.

Such a film is George Clooney’s latest, The American.  From the studio, a plot synopsis:

The suspense thriller THE AMERICAN stars Academy Award winner George Clooney in the title role for director Anton Corbijn (Control). The screenplay by Rowan Joffe is adapted from Martin Booth’s 1990 novel A Very Private Gentleman.

As an assassin, Jack (Clooney) is constantly on the move and always alone. After a job in Sweden ends more harshly than expected for this American abroad, Jack retreats to the Italian countryside. He relishes being away from death for a spell as he holes up in a small medieval town. While there, Jack takes an assignment to construct a weapon for a mysterious contact, Mathilde (Thekla Reuten).

Savoring the peaceful quietude he finds in the mountains of Abruzzo, Jack accepts the friendship of local priest Father Benedetto (Paolo Bonacelli) and pursues a torrid liaison with a beautiful woman, Clara (Violante Placido). Jack and Clara’s time together evolves into a romance, one seemingly free of danger. But by stepping out of the shadows, Jack may be tempting fate.

Blah Blah Blah…. And you know what, this film is just as boring as that synopsis makes it sound.  Really, this film seemed more like an excuse for Clooney to go shoot a film in the beautiful Italian countryside in Abruzzo, cavort around with the often-nude Placido, and get some street cred for trying to make an art film/action film.  Whatever the reason, I haven’t been this bored with the usually reliable Clooney in a long time.

But one thing I can say that is complimentary is that this film makes me want to read the novel it was based on. Perhaps some of the magic that failed to coalesce on film can be found in the written word.

I’m a bit of a Clooney-phile. I love his performances even in films that don’t really work (Intolerable Cruelty) and he takes some films that otherwise might be more pedestrian and makes them amazing (The Men Who Stare At Goats, O Brother Where Art Thou, One Fine Day, Michael Clayton, etc, etc), but unless your idea of a great acting job by Clooney is him looking detached and bored, breathlessly waking up in the night from his dreams, or constantly burying his hands in his face in fatigue, you will be, like me, disappointed in this performance. This isn’t Batman and Robin territory bad here, but it’s closer to that than Syriania or Good Night and Good Luck.

This film really, really wants to be Michael Clayton. And it just isn’t.  It tries to be intelligent, it tries to be suspenseful (and sometimes, it really is suspenseful to their credit) but by the time the climax of the film occurs I found myself no way engaged enough in the character to really care what happens, or learn some valuable lesson about searching for penance, or even just be mildly entertained. It should be better, but it just isn’t.

And then there’s the content.  I’m usually not one to make a mention of the amount of “Adult Content” a film has unless it seems either really uneven or gratuitous, but this film really made me uncomfortable in several parts. Let me put it this way: of the two films I’m reviewing this week, The American and Machete, both have loads of blood, violence, nudity, and sex.  And yet while Machete has more T&A and blood and is far more overt and more likely to make the folks at the Family Research Council to get their knickers in a twist, I personally found The American far more pornographic, exploitative, and overall offensive.

The American is rated R for violence, nudity, sexual content, and opens wide Wednesday, September 1and has a running time of 103 minutes . And that’s one of the best things I can say about it is at least it isn’t long and doesn’t feel long either.

2 stars: 1 star for the scenery and beauty of Abruzzo and 1 star for Clooney’s beleaguered performance.  Even if he was just picking up a paycheck, he’s still Clooney.

My recommendation: Pick up a tour book of the Castel Del Monte, Italy and Abruzzo regions.  Have some good Italian food befitting Abruzzo, and watch Michael Clayton with your special someone.  It will be an evening better spent than with The American.