The American

In the snowy hills of Sweden, former assassin Jack  is spending time with his girlfriend Ingrid while   trying to keep his old life behind, which Ingrid  doesn't know about. One morning, they go out for   a walk and find footprints in the snow. Ingrid  thinks it may be hunters, but Jack knows better   and gets suspicious, so he drags Ingrid into a  hiding spot just in time before someone begins   shooting at them from the woods. Jack shocks  Ingrid by revealing he has a gun and uses it to   kill the attacker with one accurate shot. The body  falls in front of them and Jack begins searching   it while telling Ingrid to go to the house to call  the police. As soon as Ingrid turns around though,   Jack kills her too because he knows his identity  has been compromised. Nearby, there's a car with   another assassin waiting for his partner,  but Jack finds him and kills too. Afterward,   Jack hurries to leave the country and makes  his way to Rome, Italy, where he meets with his   handler Pavel. Jack explains he was found by the  Swedes and that Ingrid had nothing to do with it,   but Pavel still believes she could've set him  up and reminds Jack he shouldn't make friends   in this line of work. Pavel will take care  of the people that found Jack, but meanwhile   he can't stay in such a big city, so he's made  arrangements for Jack to stay in Castelvecchio,   a very small town on the map. Using the car Pavel  prepared for him, Jack travels to Castelvecchio,   but he hates it as soon as he arrives for being  so small and boring. Jack decides to turn the car   around, throw away the phone Pavel got him, and  go to Castel del Monte, a more active town. Here   he rents a very humble apartment and adopts  the name Edward, but most of the neighbors   call him "The American". Jack starts a daily  routine of exercise, visiting the local café,   and bringing his camera to natural places because  he's pretending to be a photographer. Although   he's living a peaceful life now, Jack still keeps  an eye out for any danger that may follow him,   using binoculars to watch Castelvecchio in case  anyone is looking for him. This constant alert   means Jack can't help but be startled whenever the  neighbor's scooter makes a gunshot-like sound. One   morning, Jack's having trouble using a vending  machine and is approached by Father Benedetto,   who helps him out after Jack says he isn't good  with machines. Benedetto asks a bunch of questions   to get to know him better and invites him to  drink wine at his house later, Jack tries to   turn him down but Benedetto reminds him priests  see everything. Afterward, Jack uses a payphone   to finally call Pavel, who is furious with him for  ditching the cell phone. Pavel still offers Jack   a job, which would consist of making a custom  fit for a fellow assassin, meaning Jack won't   have to kill anyone. Jack promises to think about  it. In the evening, Jack goes to see Benedetto   for that drink. Benedetto is surprised that if  Jack is photographing Italy he isn't learning   about the country's history, then he points out  it's probably his American nature that makes him   think he can escape history and only live in the  present. Sometime later, Jack drives to Sulmona,   where he does some shopping and watches Mathilde  from afar. When she sits at a café, Jack takes the   table next to her and picks up her newspaper when  she drops it as a sign he's the gunsmith she's   looking for. Mathilde gives Jack all the details  she needs for her weapon and Jack accepts the job,   he also points out there's been a guy watching  them, but Mathilde swears she's working alone.   Later when Jack returns home, he thinks he sees  the same guy in town and does his best to avoid   him. At night, Jack begins having trouble  sleeping, reacting to any noise he hears by   taking out his gun. A few days later, Jack goes to  the post office to pick up a very special package,   it's the pieces he needs to start working on the  weapon. The first half of the assembly goes well,   but he's going to need some extra things to build  a silencer. When night falls, he decides to visit   a bawdy house and meets Clara, a call girl  that rocks his world. Sometime later, Jack   helps Benedetto fix his car when it breaks down in  the middle of the road. The priest thanks him by   inviting him to dinner at his house, and Jack gets  to hear Benedetto's stories about his relationship   with the townspeople. He has a picture of Fabio,  the local mechanic, who Benedetto worries about   because he's a good man but he may be involved  in some illegal things. Jack wonders if Benedetto   ever wanted to be anything other than a priest,  and Benedetto sarcastically wonders if Jack ever   was something other than a photographer. Jack had  told him he wasn't good with machines yet he fixed   Benedetto's car with ease, not to mention he can  tell Jack has more money than a journalist should   make, but Jack doesn't raise to the bait. The next  day, Jack breaks his car on purpose and takes it   to Fabio's garage. Fabio at first doesn't want  to help a mysterious foreigner, but he changes   his mind when Jack mentions he's a friend of  Benedetto. Jack explains cars are a hobby for him   and wonders if he could get some pieces to fix a  broken drive shaft, and Fabio accepts to give them   to him for free. While Jack looks around to find  what he needs to make the silencer, he discovers   Fabio has a copy of the same photograph Benedetto  had. On his way home, Jack sees Clara going to   church and can't help sharing a flirty look  with her. As soon as he gets to his apartment,   Jack begins working on the weapon again, finishing  the silencer successfully by the time night falls.   The next day he takes the rifle to the woods  and tests it to confirm it works perfectly.   Later Jack goes to the bawdy house to celebrate,  but Clara isn't working today and Jack decides to   leave instead of choosing a different girl. In the  evening, Jack goes to a café and notices the same   guy is still watching him. The clerk brings Jack  an envelope someone left for him, and inside Jack   finds a newspaper clip talking about the bodies he  left in Sweden. When he returns to his apartment,   he decides to take a different road just in case  and keeps his gun extra close when he goes to bed.   Sometime later, Jack goes to the train station to  pick up Mathilde, who is wearing a different wig   to protect her identity from curious eyes. Then  he drives her to a secret spot in the forest near   the river that he's sure only he knows of, but  Mathilde still wants to walk around and check   there aren't any footprints or tire tracks before  they get to work. Afterward Jack puts down a   picnic blanket to use as a cover in case the cops  investigate the area later and shows Mathilde the   rifle he's made. Mathilde puts it together like  an expert and places an order for special rounds   made with mercury. She's brought her own target  to test the rifle, which she does with no trouble,   then she asks Jack to shoot at the flowers next  to her from a fair distance. Jack is surprised   that she trusts him enough not to kill her and  shoots the flowers without even making her flinch,   impressing Mathilde with the silencer he made  because she couldn't tell where the bullet came   from. Once they're done, Mathilde asks for  some last adjustments and for the delivery   to be made by the first of next month as she  pays the first half of the money. The bullet   cases are thrown in the river, and Jack throws  some wine on the grass as part of the cover,   he even took the time to chill it because  that's how it's drunk here. At that moment,   a butterfly lands on Mathilde's arm, and Jack  tells her some cool facts about that specific   type. This makes Mathilde call him "Mr. Butterfly"  and asks if Jack ever brought a woman here before,   which he denies. In the evening, Jack goes stops  by the bawdy house to have some fun with Clara,   who also calls him "Mr. Butterfly" because of  his tattoo. Clara can tell Jack has something   in his mind, but Jack doesn't think her worry is  sincere and explains she doesn't have to act for   him as she does for other clients. He also tips  generously, and when Clara points out she makes   more with him than all the other girls together,  he confesses he doesn't see the other girls. Jack   continues to work on the modifications for  the rifle and the bullets with mercury, but   he also takes breaks at the café. One afternoon,  he comes across Clara, who is going to the movies   with her girlfriend. They do some chitchatting  and Clara points out she's free on Wednesday,   so Jack says they can meet at the usual place.  Clara tries to get him to mention what the "usual   place" is, and when he doesn't dare to mention  the bawdy house in front of her girlfriend,   Clara takes advantage of this and asks him to meet  her at a restaurant. After the ladies are gone,   Jack opens the newspaper and worries when he reads  about call girls getting killed. Later that night,   Jack is making his way home and notices  the usual guy isn't just watching anymore,   he's now actually following him. Jack hides in an  alley and takes off his shoes while waiting for   the guy to pass by, then he starts following him  with his gun out. His intention is to kill him,   but his plan is interrupted by the sudden arrival  of the neighbor on his scooter, alerting the guy   of their presence. The assassin immediately reacts  by shooting the driver and running away in his   car, so Jack takes the keys from the body and  uses the scooter to follow him. A chase begins   throughout town as Jack tries to kill this man,  but he keeps failing his shots. When they make it   to the road outside town, Jack finally manages to  hit a tire and make the car crash. Then Jack comes   closer to kill him by hand and takes away his  gun. Afterward, Jack calls Pavel and tells him the   Swedes have found him again, but Pavel tells him  to stay put and finish the job. Jack wants to know   how he's been found and Pavel just responds Jack  is losing his edge. That night, Jack has trouble   sleeping because the guilt of killing Ingrid keeps  haunting his dreams. He decides to go for a walk   even if the sun is barely out and bumps into  Benedetto, who likes to take morning early walks   to thank God for everything and ask him to look  after those who are sinners. Jack points out all   men are sinners, prompting Benedetto to explain  those who seek peace are much sinning in history,   and that Jack has done lots of sinning. Benedetto  heard about the death that happened nearby last   night and wonders if Jack needs confession,  but Jack turns him down and taunts him back   by confessing he can tell Fabio is Benedetto's  secret son. Benedetto admits he made a mistake in   the past, but at least he has someone in his life,  unlike Jack. In the evening, Jack meets with Clara   at the restaurant. He's very impressed by how she  handles the waiter when he tries to take the order   from Jack instead of Clara because of her gender,  and when a flower boy comes by, Jack buys her a   flower. Clara protests because the seller thinks  they're a couple, but since Jack buys it anyway,   she sees it as a good sign. She can tell Jack  has some sort of secret, but Jack denies being   married, so that's good enough for her. After  dinner, they go to Clara's apartment and spend   the night together. The next morning while Clara  showers, Jack snoops around and finds a gun inside   Clara's purse, making him suspicious. Later that  day, he finishes the order and buys a suitcase   together with a bunch of office supplies to hide  the rifle properly. Now that his job is done he   can go out and follow Clara around to make sure  she isn't a spy. He does see her with some men,   but he can't tell if they're clients or criminals.  The following day, Jack calls Pavel and asks for   two more days before making the drop, which Pavel  grants. In the afternoon, Jack takes Clara to   the secret spot in the forest for a picnic. As  soon as Clara sees the river, she takes off her   clothes to go swimming, but Jack doesn't join her.  Clara also finds the bullet cases in the water,   but she blames them on hunters and Jack just  throws them back. While they enjoy the picnic,   Clara reaches into her purse, causing Jack to  tense and grab his gun to defend himself. It turns   out Clara was just grabbing her sunscreen, but  his reaction triggers an argument anyway. Clara   explains she has a gun to protect herself because  there's a killer going after call girls, and Jack   accepts to trust that explanation. Then Clara  asks him to come with her to the town procession   tomorrow, and when Jack says he'll think about it,  Clara wonders if they can start going on dates all   the time. Jack immediately shuts down the idea  explaining he can't stay forever, prompting Clara   to kiss him and beg him to stay. Jack can't stop  thinking about Clara's request when he goes home   and decides to call Pavel to inform him that after  he does the delivery, he's out. Pavel seemingly   accepts this with no trouble, but after Jack hangs  up, Pavel calls Mathilde with a special request.   The next day, Jack drives to a café by the road  to meet with Mathilde, who is wearing a different   wig again. He hands her the mercury bullets in a  special can, and Mathilde grabs the suitcase too   while excusing herself to go the bathroom, where  she prepares an extra gun she brought with her.   Jack notices Mathilde is taking too long and  the other clients have left, so he's anxious   and alone. With the gun ready in his pocket, Jack  decides to wait outside just in case, and Mathilde   brings him the rest of the money. It looks like  she's got more to say, but at that moment a bus   full of children arrives, and Mathilde leaves  before they can be noticed. Jack drives back   to town and Mathilde follows him while talking on  the phone to Pavel, who wants her to kill Jack as   soon as possible. Back in town, the procession  is keeping the streets crowded, thus it's easy   for Mathilde to sneak inside a house, kill the  owners, and find a spot on their roof to keep   an eye on Jack while Pavel also arrives in the  area. Jack meets with Clara and asks her to run   away with him, Clara obviously accepts and they  confess their love for each other. At that moment,   Mathilde gets ready to shoot Jack, but her weapon  backfires and kills her because Jack had rigged it   in advance. Jack sees this and understands they're  after him, so he hands Clara the money and tells   her to wait for him at the secret spot in the  forest. Then Jack goes to check on Mathilde to ask   her who sent her, Mathilde confesses it was Pavel  before she dies. Suddenly Benedetto arrives to see   what's going and Jack points his gun at him, but  he's learned his lesson with Ingrid and doesn't   shoot. After apologizing to the priest, Jack goes  looking for Pavel, entering an empty alley on   purpose so he'll be followed. Pavel falls for the  bait and comes closer, but when he raises his fun,   Jack turns around and shoots until he kills him.  Afterward, Jack takes his car to go to the forest,   but he starts feeling unwell when he realizes  Pavel did hit him and now he's slowly bleeding   to death. Jack still tries his best to reach  the forest and sees Mathilde waiting for him,   causing him to desperately reach out for  her but dying before he can say good bye.