No one can chew up a scene like Anthony Hopkins playing a villain. And though the Academy Award winner is earning buzz now for his Oscar-nominated turn as an aging patriarch in The Father (making him the oldest Best Actor nominee ever), Hopkins proves that he can still send a chill down our spines if he wants to. And this time, he’s wearing sunglasses. Watch Hopkins antagonize Anson Mount (Star Trek: Discovery) in the trailer for The Virtuoso.

The Virtuoso Trailer

Hopkins stars as an enigmatic boss to Mount’s professional assassin, who receives an assignment that will have him questioning his entire livelihood. Haunted by a deadly mistake during a past assignment, Mount’s assassin is given a mysterious name and a small town, where he meets all kinds of mysterious characters: a corrupt sheriff, a femme fatale, the whole shebang for a wintry noir. But, of course, you’ve got to have a man pulling the strings, and that’s Hopkins, who mostly gets to gloat behind a desk while wearing sunglasses or deliver solemn exposition by a graveyard.

The entire thing feels much like a B-movie thriller destined for the bargain bin, which is likely why Lionsgate is dropping the film in theaters in April, before vaccines are expected to be fully rolled out. But perhaps The Virtuoso will be a potential vehicle for Mount, whose star is on the rise after the stumble of The Inhumans nearly tanked his career, thanks to a well-liked turn in Star Trek: Discovery, which has earned him his own spin-off show. It’s not totally promising, as it certainly looks like Mount is given little to do here beyond making stoic faces and mumble voice-over narration, but maybe the trailer is underselling The Virtuoso.

Co-written and directed by Nick Stagliano, The Virtuoso also stars Abbie Cornish, Eddie Marsan, David Morse, Richard Brake and Diora Baird.

Here’s the synopsis for The Virtuoso:

Danger, deception, and murder descend upon a sleepy country town when a professional assassin (Anson Mount) accepts a new assignment from his enigmatic mentor and boss (Oscar winner Anthony Hopkins). Given only where and when along with a cryptic clue, the methodical hitman must identify his mysterious mark from among several possible targets, including a local sheriff (David Morse). Meanwhile, a chance encounter with an alluring woman (Abbie Cornish) at the town’s rustic diner threatens to derail his mission in this noir-style cloak-and-dagger thriller.

The Virtuoso arrives in theaters and on-demand on April 30, 2021 before heading to Blu-ray and DVD on May 4.

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