Jack (George Clooney) is a contract killer. Vacationing in Sweden with his girlfriend Ingrid (Irina Björklund) he is being shot at by a sniper of an opposing criminal group and Jack kills him. He contacts his boss Pavel (Johan Leysen) in Rome, who sends him to Castelvecchio in the province of Abruzzo. Jack suspects Pavel of trying to get rid of him, so he ditches the car and cell phone Pavel gave him, and goes to nearby Castel del Monte instead.
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While there, Pavel gives him another job and he has a meeting with Mathilde (Thekla Reuten). She asks him to build her a customized sniper rifle. He also starts seeing a prostitute, Clara (Violante Placido), who enters into a genuine romantic relationship with him, which slowly opening him up to love again. Then, Jack realizes he is being followed. It turns out to be a killer from Sweden, and he shoots him.
Jack agrees to deliver the weapon to Mathilde as his last job for Pavel, but following a last moment intuition, he sabotages the rifle. At the drop-off, Jack realizes Mathilde is going to kill him. But a busload of school children gets in the way, and he is able to make it out of there.
Jack asks Clara to leave with him and she agrees. Mathilde tries to kill Jack again, but the sabotaged rifle explodes in her face and kills her instead. Jack gives Clara an envelope with money and tells her wait for him at the picnic spot on the river embankment, that they had visited some time before. He runs to where Mathilde had fell and finds out she also worked for Pavel.
Jack goes to find Clara, but Pavel is following him. In the ensuing exchange of gunfire, Pavel gets killed. As Jack drives to meet Clara, he feels his stomach and realizes he has been hit. When Jack arrives and sees Clara, he collapses. The last shot of the movie is a white butterfly that flies up from his car, leaving Jack's fate ambiguous.
Best part of story, including ending:
It is an intruiging story that is told in a minimalist sort of way.
Best scene in story:
The scenes at the riverside. The light is beautiful and the suspense is good. Anything can happen.
Opinion about the main character:
You don't really get to know his mindset. The title of the book after which this film was made, would have been a better title: A Very Private Gentleman.
