Plot Summary
Richard Linklater’s new movie stars Glenn Powell as Gary Daniels, a philosophy professor at the local college who moonlights for the local police as an IT expert.
Gary works with detectives Claudette, Phil and Jasper whose job it is to catch people who try to hire hit men. During their undercover missions, Jasper takes on the role of a hitman so Claudette and Phil can get close to their targets and arrest them.
But when Jasper is suspended before the squad’s next job, it’s up to Gary to take on his role as a killer for hire.
In this ending explained for Hit Man, we ask the question: What is the point of the movie?
Is Gary good at his new job?
Gary isn’t sure about his new role as a pretend hit man but it’s long before he gets into the part, donning all manner of disguises to dupe the people who hire him.
However, Gary falters when he meets Madeline (Adria Arjona) who wants him to kill her abusive husband Ray. After getting close to her and becoming sympathetic of her plight, he encourages her to start a new life instead of leading her to the point of arrest.
What happens to Ray?
After Gary meets with Ray, who (in a surprise twist) wants him to kill Madison, our unlikely hero warns Madison of her husband’s intent. Shortly after, Ray is found dead. Gary’s police colleagues initially think he was killed in a drug deal gone wrong but then change their minds when they think Madison may have murdered him.
It turns out that Madison did kill Ray, which is something Gary learns when she speaks to him about what she has done. At this point, he reveals that he’s not a hitman but somebody working undercover for the police.
Does Madison get away with the crime?
The police ask Gary to wear a wire so they can entrap Madison. He does as they ask but when he’s alone with Madison, he taps out instructional messages to her on his phone so she can say the right things to remove herself from criminal suspicion.
Listening to their conversation, Claudette and Phil decide that Madison can’t be the murderer. This puts her in the clear but shortly after, she is confronted by Jasper, who has figured out the truth about her involvement in Ray’s murder.
Jasper tries to extort Madison out of her inheritance but she’s cleverer than he thought. She gives him a beer that is laced with drugs which cause him to pass out.
Gary, who has shown up at Madison’s house, sees only one way out of the mess that his girlfriend is now in. He grabs a plastic bag, puts it over Jasper’s head and suffocates him, making his death look like suicide.
What happens to Madison and Gary?
The movie flash forwards in time to show the two of them living a happy life together with their children and dogs. When one of the kids asks his parents where they met, Gary wisely decides not to reveal the true story.
What is the point of the movie?
That it’s possible to reinvent yourself. Gary talked to his students about this at the beginning of the movie; by the end of it, he had learned to reinvent himself, becoming more assertive as he carried out his new profession. While his hitman persona was a ruse, he started to become like the charming killer he was acting as, proving true that age-old adage – it’s possible to fake it until you make it!
Read More: Hit Man – Movie Review