Jack (George Clooney), whose last name remains unknown, is one hell of a craftsman.

Serving as an American assassin, he is the best of the best. He’s sophisticated, seemingly calm, keenly observant and rightfully paranoid of the potential threats he may face in whatever environment he inhabits.

Unlike James Bond, he is never flashy nor pretentious, but rather aloof, self-loathing and simply more human.

This comes as a pleasant surprise for a film that has been marketed as a shoot-’em-up action film, but plays more naturally as a tender character study.

Director Anton Corbijn’s “The American” (a literary adaptation of author Martin Booth’s “A Very Private Gentlemen”) is more focused on humanity and morality than action and spectacle.

Opening with a gorgeous shot of a snow-infested forest in Sweden, we see Jack living what appears to be a serene existence with a beautiful woman in an isolated cabin.

Upon going for a romantic hike across the terrain, the two of them are ambushed by a group of merciless Swedish gunmen.

After a tragic turn of events, Jack reluctantly retreats to the Italian countryside for a new assignment. While there, he is ordered to construct a weapon for a radiant, yet mystifying female contact named Mathidle (Thekla Reuten), whose motivations remain curiously concealed.

Amid the mountainous tranquility of his environment, Jack slowly befriends a pleasant but prying priest named Father Benedetto (Paolo Bonacelli) who is able to see through his sullen withdrawal and wonders what pain it may be masking.

To escape his dismal solitude, Jack also engages in a romantic affair with a local prostitute named Clara (Violante Placido), whose company he seeks more out of need than pleasure.

As their romance gradually blossoms, Jack, consistently haunted by his past, begins to come back to life. However, in his perilous line of work, romance and danger don’t mix, and now he is caught in the middle of a lethal assignment that becomes increasingly more complex.

Corbijn beautifully photographs a series of vacant landscapes that seem to emulate Jack’s somber state of mind and isolation. It is admirable to see a filmmaker less interested in senseless action and more interested in characterization.

Clooney brilliantly embodies Jack, giving a very quiet and restrained performance. He is an actor whose subtle nuances evoke just enough emotion to demand our empathy. Much like the weapons he constructs, he’s silent but deadly.

The film moves at a rather steady pace, so audiences will require extraordinary patience.

However, the film is a stunningly picturesque, absorbing and thoughtful action film that ends on rather poetic note that resonates long after the credits roll.