American Star

There’s not much of a secret to what Ian Macshane playing Wilson is about even before the gun is revealed. Dressed in a smart black suit he lands in Fuerteventura and drives to the middle of nowhere to case a house. Until someone turns up.
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From there it’s a fairly gentle journey as he makes his way around town, the hotel entertainment not being up to much. He finds his way to club where he makes the acquaintance of barmaid Gloria (Nora Arnezeder) and whom he helps out later with a drug dealer.
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But Wilson ostensibly on his last mission hasn’t been left to his own devices as Ryan (Adam Nagaitis) turns up to act as his handler. Both ex-army there’s a mutual distrust from the off though clear that there is a job to be done. As such the themes are fairly familiar with the understudy now the boss with the old man contemplating his own life and past.

Matters become more complicated as Wilson and Gloria start to become friends that in turn raises suspicions with Ryan who decides to become personally involved. An added issue is the arrival of Gloria’s mother Anne (Fanny Ardant).

The slow pace of American Star makes it a difficult film to engage with. Which is saying something when the star is the ever-engaging Ian McShane here in fine menacing form, though nuanced by the gentle friendship he strikes up with boy Max (Oscar Coleman) who is avoiding his endlessly battling parents. Still there’s is plenty of intrigue as Director Gonzalo López-Gallego and writer Nacho Faerna develop the story and to a certain extent the characters.

The viewer is given just enough to keep the film interesting and, in the loop, but it still feels a bit too long overall. And this isn’t fully compensated by the filmmakers’ excellent use of Fuerteventura. The dry barren mountain areas, meshed with the more ominous black sand beaches, and the touristy areas all combine to provide a dash of glamour and grit.

Along with McShane the cast are all fine with Nagaitis in particular ensuring he’s a creep and, leaving no doubt, a dangerous one but not going over the top with it. The American Star? That is the name of an extraordinary shipwreck on the Fuerteventura coast.

American Star will be in UK cinemas and digital platforms from 23 February 2024.