The American is a new suspense thriller about a mysterious American named Jack (George Clooney) who arrives in a small Italian town after problems with a job in Sweden.

Whilst waiting for orders, he befriends a local priest (Paolo Bonacelli) and falls for for a local prostitute named Clara (Violante Placido), whilst taking on a new assignment to construct a new rifle for a professional assassin (Thekla Reuten).

Directed by Anton Corbijn, the film is a stylish, existential drama that harks back to the films of Jean-Pierre Melville, Michelangelo Antonioni and Sergio Leone.

I recently spoke with Violante Placido about her role the film and what it was like working with Corbijn and Clooney in the Abruzzo region of Italy.