A 2023 release, Dusk for a Hitman is a French-Canadian crime movie that just came out in the United States following its international release. Directed by Raymond St-Jean, the movie captures the fascination that we have for the crime world, focusing on a real character who murders on orders from the Montreal mafia. Although the movie paints a realistic portrait of this world without falling into clichés, the pacing loses steam after a pretty solid first act. Donald Lavoie, the titular hitman, is depicted as a very interesting assassin, showing both great charisma, and without a single glimpse of pity for his victims. Interesting cocktail! Let’s load the chamber and pump the shotgun.
This is all inspired by a true story, a few exceptions aside. In Quebec history, this is considered to be our own version of Goodfellas (1990). We’re in the late 1970s in Montreal, Canada. Donald Lavoie (Éric Bruneau) is a very efficient hitman for the local mafia. Loyal to crime boss Claude Dubois (Benoit Gouin), he seems to be well-respected in his profession, always able to survive his different ventures and evade prosecution. Donald is so confident with his reputation and livelihood that his own wife knows what he does for a living, and respects him for it. However, that changes rapidly when Donald’s younger brother Carl (Simon Landry-Desy) tries to get into the game on his own, selling drugs on the street and to Dubois’ men. To protect his brother, Donald will have to make a choice between his two families…
Where the movie succeeds is truly in how Donald is portrayed. We know he murders people in a gruesome way, but we can’t help but admire him for his family values and empathy. He’s so ironic in his duality: a loving father who provides for his family, while also being a pityless assassin who can pull the trigger without a second thought. Not a protagonist, but not an antagonist either. The first act of the film is definitely the most interesting, as we see Donald in action during his multiple ‘kill orders’ for Claude Dubois. The murders are bloody, sometimes not executed quite cleanly, and there’s collateral damage when Dubois’ inexperienced men are involved.
Also, the movie does look and feel like a dirty ’70s flick; those men are fuelled by cheap beer and cigarettes that they pop like candies. Hard to believe they were able to fight and run from crime scenes so easily. This could have been an excellent ad for Molson Export beers.
Unfortunately, the movie does lose steam halfway through, at the time when Donald is forced into a bad situation after a double homicide, being chased by both the police and his mafia family. The investigation takes a long time to come to a close and the discussions behind closed doors are not particularly exciting. At some point, crime movies start to resemble each other and the surprise factor is completely gone. This is also true here.
Nonetheless, for crime junkies, this is an interesting watch to really witness a realistic depiction of a true hitman in 1970s Canada, and how lawlessness was so messy fifty years ago. Not a memorable film, but a good time down ‘Martin Scorsese Lane’.
*The movie was released in original French Canadian but can be watched dubbed or with subtitles.
FINAL GRADE: 6.5/10
