User reviews

Carol Jean "CJ" March (Daryl Hannah) is a professional killer that works to the mobster Vernon Cray (Alex Rocco). CJ fails in her last work for Vernon, when she kills a man to retrieve half-million dollars in drugs, but she realizes that his briefcase that is empty was switched by another man. CJ hunts the man down to finish her job and discovers his name, Roger Washington (Shawn Woods), and address. Meanwhile Roger is murdered by the punk Troy Riverside (Brad Renfro) that wants to sell the drugs to move to Arizona with his pregnant girlfriend Emily "Em" Robin (Dominique Swain). CJ, who is the daughter of a prostitute and orphan since she was seven, finds that she is pregnant and she tries to have an abortion in a clinic. Then she goes to a bar to get drunken and laid and she meets the former priest Rick (Eric Mabius) that gets closer to her. When CJ finds Roger murdered, she seeks out Troy and finds Emily. However she is not capable to kill her because Emily is pregnant. Will CJ finish her last job?

"The Job" is an action movie with a dramatic story with a promising beginning. CJ is very well developed and consistent in the beginning as a cold-blood killer with a traumatic childhood. When she finds that she is pregnant, she wants to abort the baby keeping the consistence of the character. However after meeting Rick and Emily, the story becomes corny but the plot is still acceptable since pregnancy makes women more sensitive and fragile. Therefore it is still possible to swallow the changing of CJ's character. However the corny last scene is incoherent and spoils what could have been a good film. My vote is five.

Title (Brazil): "Assassina por Natureza" ("Killer by Nature")

"The Job" is all about Hannah as a beautiful contract killer with a really bad attitude. This lame flick builds its story around her reluctance to make a final "hit" for reasons we're never really given to understand. We're led to believe she's killed often before but now, for whatever vague reason, she just doesn't want to "off" Renfro and his slutty girlfriend (Swain) to recover some drugs. And, if she doesn't fulfill her obligation and do the deed, her boss (Rocco), who looks too old to be able to pose a threat to anyone, will do something bad to her. And, if all that wasn't enough, she also has to contend with a young man (Mabius) who is falling in love with her in spite of her bad attitude, constant rejections, and a little problem with incipient motherhood. This far fetched bad idea conjures some decent performances and is adequately lensed and scored but can't escape its preposterous plot. It's asking us to care about a killer for no good reason and to believe she can't escape her over-the-hill boss even though she could simply point one of her many guns at him and pull the trigger instead of doing away with Renfro. Hey, what the hell, she could just kill them all but then we wouldn't have all the angst and misery we're supposed to be experiencing as we ponder this turkey. A slightly above average B flick, "The Job" is cinematic couch potato junk food currently on broadcast. (C+)

THE JOB follows in the tradition of great movies such as CHEATS and RUN RONNIE RUN that end up either premiering on cable or going direct-to-video. However, unlike CHEATS and RUN RONNIE RUN, THE JOB made its debut at Cannes. Just like a lot of the movies that debut at Cannes, no theatrical release was given to THE JOB and thus, it came direct-to-video. Perhaps the first question any viewer will ask themselves upon watching this movie is, "What happened to Daryl Hannah's career?" Yes, she appeared in KILL BILL this past fall, but that wasn't necessarily a huge comeback for her. While I didn't care that much for KILL BILL, I loved THE JOB, mainly due to Daryl Hannah. Regardless of how far down her career has gone, I still love her. She is a great actress and a hell of a good-looking one too. Here she plays CJ March, a female assassin who has decided she wants to put her days of killing behind her, but before she can call it quits, she has one last job to do. It's not the best premise it the world, but that doesn't stop it from being a great action/crime pic with tons of blood and gunfire. If blood and gunfire is what you like, be prepared to have a ball watching this flick. I know I did.

I have to agree with Nadine. The storyline is jumpy and none of the characters really get a chance to define themselves. Its very far fetched due to that. Additionally the whole script is weak - we never find the motives (apart from the obvious ones surrounding pregnancy). So we are left with a series of B-movie cameo's, jumpy editing - poor storyline with characters who are so hollow ...... CJ just doesn't act the part, she finds her hits without any build up - a few edited shots of money changing hands (just like in the 50's). She drinks, she has some kind of teenage angst over her job, and she does doesn't build credibility. She is a sterile character - some butch girl in a cycle of self hate and looking for Mr Goodbar encounters. And of course all because her mother was a hooker. The flashbacks are not really merged with the story. The main "hit target" characters are also shallow - they never have a chance build their parts above comic strip lowlife's looking for a way out. The major bad guy, the "hood" employer is so stereotyped - why does he pick her? and why does he wait so long for her to screw up?. Why is he talking like that ? I think it was a budget -` budget movie' - as far as I can see there is only dialogue from 5-6 people, only 3 to 4 sets, a poor soundtrack and a lot of bad shooting .. Shame I was looking forward to this but its a thumbs down from me ..

A very inconsistent film that is rather unwatchable and cringe inducing. There is a gut wrenching self abortion attempt, a screaming pregnant woman who is and then not going into labor and then gives birth. Then she cuts the umbilical cord with a butcher knife and runs into the street and drives a car. If this all sounds ridiculous as well as a guaranteed eye diversion, it is.

There is much exposure of birth pains and no brains. A lead hit woman who is into so much self hatred and self denial that after awhile it all becomes such a load of nonsense that it loses all credibility and is just an ugly mess.

These are very unlikeable and unrealistic people who perform violent acts with motivation that is spontaneous and superficial. All the unpleasantness and gritty goings on leave a very bad taste and the wallowing in this world is ultimately an unworthy movie that really has no redeeming value and a lot to answer for.

A horrible movie. I can't believe some of the reviews I am seeing for this trash. Do yourselves a favour and avoid this completely. The script had potential but they failed on all fronts to create anything of quality. One really has to wonder how these people can be so bad at their jobs.

This film obviously went directly into DVD, and cable and oblivion, but it merits a viewing. Although the director is not a familiar name, he has a flair for presenting this story with a eye for detail. Kenny Goode knows a thing or two about the underbelly of the "city of angels".

The film presents us CJ March, an assassin for hire, who bungles the job she was sent to do and is drawn into a web of circumstances where she herself mirrors the same situation of one of the persons she is to liquidate. We understand by way of flashbacks that CJ, herself, has had an unhappy upbringing. She is a cold woman who has no problem killing until she gets herself in the same situation where she would never have dreamed of being.

Daryl Hannah is CJ's is splendid. She is an underrated actress, but in here she shows a range that is not immediately associated with her work before. Brad Renfro and Dominique Swain are good as the couple CJ is pursuing; they elude her most of the time, until the final show down. Alex Rocco as the CJ's employer strikes the right note as the man without scruples who manipulates people into committing crimes for him. Also effective is Eric Mabius who is too good for CJ, and eventually, her salvation.

As a moody film of suspense it proves satisfying as it keeps the viewer interested in every turn of the action.

I don't care what anyone else here says, this is Daryl Hannah's best work yet, and I've seen a lot of her material.

It may start off looking like just another hard edged femme fatale female assassin film (there have been plenty of those), but this is as a much a unique character study as it is a story. The closest quasi example that comes to mind at the moment is "the Assassin Next Door". Even though the stories are quite different, the uniqueness of the circumstances, and the dark intrigues that got these women into their current situations does add an element of depth that is so much more than just another "girl with a gun" crime movie.

In the midst of all this are the young teenage couple that become her "targets", but their twists and turns are an interesting character study in itself, particularly on how the girl finds her own, well . . . self serving solutions to her problems, of which Daryl's deadly pursuit is only a piece of a larger puzzle.

I give this production 9 stars without hesitation. Are there flaws and less than spectacular production quality aspects here? Yes, of course . . . but that's not what I generally watch a film for. Call it a B movie if you wish, but as a story, and Daryl's character in it, it's 9 stars for me.

****SPOILERS**** Slow moving crime/drama with Daryl Hannah as CJ March looking more like a homeless bag-lady then a professional mob hit-woman who's on the hunt for a stash of 4 kilos of dope that her victim at the beginning of the movie had switched before she could get it back to her boss the flowery Vernon,Alex Rocco.

The switcher Roger, Shawn Woods, is later killed by that sweet and fun-loving couple Tony & Emily, Brad Renfor & Dominque Swain who he tried to sell the dope to. CJ March is on their tail but when she's about to knock them off she hesitates when she sees that Emily is very pregnant. This brings out CJ's maternal instincts as well as her also being knocked up by someone that she picked up at one of the sleazy bars that she patronized.

One night at a bar CJ meets Rick, Eric Mablus, an ex-priest whom she rebuffs. Rick turned out to be the person in the end of the movie who turned her life around by showing CJ the light and the good things in life. During the film we also see CJ in flashback as a seven year-old girl and we get an insight to why she turned out the way she did. But the movie is so disjointed that you at one point lose perspective to whats going on well before "The Job" is over.

Tony & Emily are tracked down by CJ who can't bring herself to rub them out which almost cost CJ her life. Gloomy and depressing movie with Eric Mablus as the only real light in the film as the ex-priest Rick with the heart of gold who wanted to save CJ's soul but not to cohabit with her body as CJ at first thought.

The one thing about "The Job" that really struck a note was how dangerous and difficult it was for both Tony & Emily to sell the ripped-off drugs to local drug dealers who wouldn't touch their stuff with a ten-foot pole. The stash was just too hot leaving the two sitting on something like $500,000.00 of drugs and not being able to do anything with it.

The ending of the film tried to be up-lifting but was so contrived that it came across as phony and insincere. In light of what happened in the movie up to then.

I just saw this movie and I thought it was awesome. The movie gives great concept and reality through the film. I bought it right after I saw it. Dayrl Hannah is absolutely gorgeous, not to mention sexy as a hit woman. Brad Renfro and Dominique Swain gives great performances as their parts and Eric looks so innocent and sweet as his part. The only parts that I would think audiences would not be happy with is the ending or towards the ending, but that's because the movie is harsh on some parts and reality is like that sometimes. Reality isn't all fun and happy. And this movie proves that. I like movies like that because they have good points.

My Rating: 7/10......definitly worth watching

17 October 2017. It's really hard to rate this movie because most of all, it's not possible to really determine fact from exaggeration when it comes to real assassins considering all the stylistic, fictional and dramatic interpretations presented on film. The fight scenes are often choreographed in meticulous detail to ensure nobody actually gets hurt, there are use of stunt men, and a lot of scenes are edited together so that such assassination events are contrived and stitched together to seem like one continuous event. Such is likely to be the fantasy of action thrillers that have by now permeated throughout the filmgoing audience. But what happens, if the real deal might be depicted, how would anyone except those in the covert, special services know? Nevertheless, we have Daryl Hannah's depiction of an assassin who herself isn't in the best of physical health and so how are we to look at her performance? And her performance is actually divided up into both her physical action storyline and her dramatic relational and flashback storyline.

In the first place, Daryl Hannah comes off really strong in this distinctive assassin movie. She apparently isn't perfect and she doesn't go around with martial art skills. She's the product of a rough childhood. And she answers to a coolly sadistic employer who stands out for his bipolar-like demeanor. Alex Rocco who plays the nasty Vernon Cray wants his million dollars' worth of drugs back and the man responsible dead. He is even more sinister just because of his exacting performance that is underplayed. One is reminded of Brian Cox's performance as Hannibal Lector in Manhunter (1986) where he is a quiet but menacing figure. As a conflicted individual, Daryl's character can't be relied to be completely professional.

At the same time, a second plot line is occurring about a couple who are attempting to score on a drug deal. The young man's female smoking companion is pregnant. Their portrayal of a young couple and their dialogue are hard-hitting and almost visceral in their back and forth love-hate relationship. It's not hard to imagine that their experience is that much different from real world couples who are living on the edge. One is reminded of a more stylish performance from Viggo Mortenson and Maria Bello in A History of Violence (2005) that was released two years later, along with the sinister Richard Harris.

One would be hard pressed to discover another assassin movie that portrays its assassin as in The Job. One could point, maybe, to Colin Farrell in In Bruges (2008), George Clooney in The American (2010), even the satirical performance of Pierce Brosnan in The Matador (2005) or his more drama-driven performance in The Tailor in Panama (2001) as examples. All male characters by the way. Daryl Hannah is no Geena Davis in her typical assassin performance in The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996). One might have to go back to Diane Keaton's performance in The Little Drummer Girl (1984) to obtain some flavor of Daryl's character's presentation.

As a movie, this assassin movie offers up a different type of action-thriller genre movie, incorporating a strong extended relational focus often missing in male assassin movies. Even The Bourne Identity (2002) stayed more with the couple's interaction with the us versus them mentality instead of what was necessarily going on between them, except for brief scenes that appear to be more incidental to the movie. Even babies are another unusual focus in this movie's plot, as two women who are key players here, such a theme would be a consistent one, but not normal one, to incorporate into overall theme of a movie. The photography, the sound effects, the set designs, and editing and pacing are all on par with good movies. The action is never over the top nor are there special effects really called for or even necessarily needed here. This movie remains true to its more authentic portrayal of physical action and continues to balance screen time with emotive and ethical drama. One could argue that the very last brief scene was a typical American add on that industrial production companies might have insisted on. Nevertheless, the movie mostly depicts the cycle of existential angst that pervades over much of the downtrodden and mentally and physically abused dregs of society. In short, this movie has something important to reveal and experience.

The lengths people go to get their drugs.

Reliance on doing what you think might make you happy for an instance.

Daryl Hannah as an over the age of 40 fading beauty with a contract killers position is hired on to get back several lbs of heroin from a boy ( played by Brad Renfro)and his girlfriend ( played by Dominique Swain) & to kill them both. She has a moment of clarity from the killing as she finds out the girl is pregnant which Ms Hannah later in the film finds that one of her numerous unfufilling one-night stands has made her preggie as well. She wants to quit the firm that has hired her on as a assassin & her boss won't let her. Eric Maibus has a mostly forgettable role as a gut Ms Hannah meets who falls for her & wants to save her from herself. Not a bad plot, not a bad film but just okay. ** out of *****

I like movies that put seemingly insignificant events right in front of your eyes but in a way that you don't notice them, and later return to those events to show you why you should have payed more attention. "The Job" has one such scene within the first 5 minutes (the suitcase exchange), which made me optimistic about this script. If you're expecting a slam-bang action ride with a female professional killer eliminating targets left and right, you won't find it here. This is more of a slow, melancholy drama where there are no obvious "good guys" (except for Eric Mabius' character). Daryl Hannah tries hard to look as unglamorous and harsh as possible, and gives a convincing performance. So do her co-stars, although Dominique Swain has to struggle with an inconsistently written character. A little after the 1-hour mark, the movie starts spiraling out of control, and the final image is a cheat. So it loses half-a-star and ends up at **1/2 out of 4.

CJ (Hannah) is a sexy, cold-blooded, contract killer looking to get out of the business. She agrees to carry out one last hit before calling it quits to lead a normal life. However upon staking out the hit, she finds that, for the first time in her career as an assassin, she is unable to finish the job. But she has accepts a contract and is expected fulfill it.

Not bad, but also full of cliche, wannabe next 'Nikita'.

ART?? by far one of the worst movies I have ever had sat thru. SIX gun shots throughout an "action" flick does not make an "action" flick!! Hannah has not aged well thanks to the photography in this piece and the other actors.... what? TERRIBLE ACTING throughout. Sorry!I am usually the type of person who manages to find at least one thing in every movie and use that one good thing to form an opinion... COME ON!!! In labor one minute... giving birth another... and then running the next??? The story BLAND. The cast crap. The soundtrack non-existent. The filming added nothing. Low budget F-rated movie. I'm just thankful my buddies didn't beat me up for picking it. What was the point of this movie? ART??

This turkey is about as bad a film as I've seen in a very long time. If there is any real person like CJ March in this world, then God have mercy on her soul. And that goes for just about everyone else in the cast, with the apparent exception of the ex-priest who is CJ's "love interest." Naturally, this kind of a pan actually indicates that the actors involved did a fairly good job of making their reprehensible characters seem as reprehensible as they did. But a good film takes more than that, in my book. I found nothing socially redeeming about this film whatsoever, and any film which exposes one to such deplorable violence had better have plenty of socially-redeeming values. To call this a B-picture is to give it undeserved praise, and does an injustice to other perfectly good B-pictures! I give it a D -- and that's being generous.

Summary: Plot -- Excruciating Casting -- OK Acting -- Fair to Good Cinematography -- Good Score -- Good Bottom line -- Watch it only as a good example of a bad screenplay.

It was on HBO for many years and was in theatres. It did not go directly to dvd.

The music in the club scene and the bathroom was really cool. It's a band HAITZ from LA. They also did the music for Monster Garage. They have albums available on iTunes.