The House Down the Street
Genre: Thriller/Espionage
Director: Taylor Sheridan
Writer: Chad Taylor
Cast: Josh Hartnett, Tommy Lee Jones, Jeremy Renner, Amy Smart, Richard Schiff
Plot: Black ops - noun - Secret military activities, especially illegal ones, that are ordered by a government or organization but that they will not admit to having ordered.
Beckett (Josh Hartnett) is a seasoned agent for a private intelligence firm that works between the world’s superpowers and top corporations to maintain peace and order in less-than-peaceful ways. Like others in his position, he’s a lone wolf. No family. Few hobbies. He drinks, he sleeps, he gets the job done.
When he arrives at work in the morning, the office is in hushed tones. His superior Coleman (Richard Schiff) asks for a private briefing. In the meeting, Beckett learns that the President of the United States has suffered a heart attack and they don’t know if he is going to make it. The Vice President, a former military general who has had many dealings with their agency over the years, is set to take over. Coleman pulls out a picture of John Gibbs (Tommy Lee Jones). He starts to explain but Beckett knows it all; Gibbs is one of the most-revered fixers at the agency but went off the grid twenty something years ago. Coleman says that Gibbs knows enough information that could bring easily bring down the new powers that be, which would destabilize the current world order. They’ve been sitting on a recent tip that Gibbs may’ve been spotted living in Oklahoma. Coleman pulls out a plane ticket and tells Gibbs he has three days to investigate and decommission Gibbs, before the change officially goes into effect.
On Friday, he eases into Norman as an anonymous outsider. He follows up on the tip and finds a home occupied by a man (Jeremy Renner) around his own age. He spends a few hours scoping out the home, formulating a plan for when and how will be the best time to strike. The man comes and goes a few times but no signs of Gibbs. At night, he encamps at a hole-in-the-wall bar and, before he even speaks, the bartender can tell he’s not from around here. Her name is Lacey (Amy Smart), a local blonde with a fierce attitude but backed up with some wit. As they strike up a conversation, Beckett can’t help but be charmed by her. It seems mutual. He can feel his tough exterior chipping away. She where he’s staying in town and he chuckles, wondering why he would share that information with a stranger. She says because this stranger knows a place he could stay, if need be. They both grin. He excuses himself to the men’s room and stares at himself in the mirror for an extended beat and then exits out the backdoor, sight unseen.
On Saturday morning, he visits the local hardware store to develop his arsenal; even at an advanced age, Gibbs’s prowess should not be underestimated. He returns to the home to see the man loading up Gibbs into his truck. Upon following them, it turns out they are headed to the Oklahoma Sooners football game. Beckett buys a ticket and a subtle cat-and-mouse game ensues as he tries to keep an eye on them but the heavy crowds make it difficult as the sounds of the game. He eventually makes it up to them and takes something from Gibbs’s pocket. He circles back around and then follows them to their seat. He approaches and hands them the handkerchief he had stolen, saying they dropped it a little ways back. The man gives Beckett a firm handshake and thanks him, introducing himself as Mike while Beckett gives a fake name back. Beckett also shakes Gibbs’s hand but the old man can’t seem to remember his own name. Mike chuckles and excuses his uncle for his forgetfulness. Beckett says he completely understands. Mike then starts making small talk about today’s game and Beckett fakes his way through the conversation, recycling lines he heard at the bar last night. He learns that Mike is a local policeman. Before the game starts, a moment of silence is held for the late President and Beckett exits after that.
In his hotel room, Beckett processes this interaction. Gibbs is an old feeble man with memory loss. Has nature done his job for him? If he’s having trouble with his own name, how could he remember the supposed secrets his bosses are so worried about.
On Sunday, he finds Lacey with a flat tire and, after some internal debate, offers to give her a ride. He apologizes for leaving the way he did. She is annoyed but still has a soft spot for him. As they talk, he realizes that he’s being tailed by Mike. Lacey asks what’s wrong and then notices, letting out a dejected sigh and "Shit." under her breath. “Mike up to something as always,” she says. Beckett asks how she knows him and she says that’s her ex-husband. As a low-speed chase ensues through town, Beckett digs deeper and discovers that Mike was abusive towards her. He asks when Gibbs entered the picture and she said that has only been a recent development. She says she doesn’t know what’s going on there. Beckett comes to the realization that Gibbs might not be sick after all. Are they playing him? Is Lacey in on this, too? No, she seems too unsettled by all of this. Either way, he feels like he’s walked right into a trap. He finally loses Mike, but isn’t sure what to do with Lacey. He reluctantly drops her off at his home, deciding to spare her in case something goes down. She asks if she’ll see him again. He says probably not and she gives an accepting nod. He says he’s sorry.
He decides to skip his flight for the morning and make his approach then, when he knows Gibbs will be alone.
On Monday morning, Beckett sneaks into the house and finds Gibbs reading his paper at the dining table - seemingly unbothered by this man breaking into his home. They have a quiet conversation at the dining table, where Gibbs voices his regrets in life. He remembers some of his black ops past but it is not clear if he remembers everything. Ultimately, it’s hard to tell if he knows that Beckett works for his former employer or just recalling stories to anyone that will listen. Gibbs says that his biggest regret is not leaving the agency sooner and starting a family of his own. He’s now left living his last years in pain and with a nephew who hates him. Who’s constantly taking advantage of him. He tells Beckett to go ahead and put him out of his misery.
Is this another part of the ruse? Or is this a relief? Nature’s way of doing his job for him, if you will.
Gibbs’s last request is for it to be done with his own gun. He retrieves it from his cabinet and a tense minute elapses as he makes his way back to his seat. He could shoot Beckett any moment but Beckett has come to trust the old man. Mike pulls into the driveway. Gibbs hands him the gun. Beckett hesitates. For the first time since Beckett has came to Norman, Gibbs exits his senile state and angrily commands Beckett to shoot him right now.
Mike walks in on the scene and immediately goes for his gun. Beckett turns the gun to Mike and shoots him in the shoulder. As Mike crumples to the ground, a struggle ensues as Beckett tries to subdue him and they scramble through the house. Beckett eventually gains the upper hand and knocks him out with a vase. From behind, he hears Gibbs pick up the gun and ask what he had planned from here. Take him out of town to go live in some cruddy nursing home? Or better yet, take him in under his own roof? They’re gonna find him regardless.
Beckett hesitates to turn around. Does he have a gun pointed to the back of his head right now? Does his life end in Norman, Oklahoma? He closes his eyes.
“On your own terms,” he tells Gibbs.
A single gunshot.
His eyes open.
Exhale.
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