Bill Nighy and Emily Blunt melted hearts as a father and daughter in Stephen Poliakoff's TV drama Gideon's Daughter, but their relationship in this black comedy will more likely turn stomachs. Nighy is initially very charming as a hitman having an identity crisis, while Eileen Atkins, as his batty mother, creates more sympathy for his plight. She strongly disapproves when he fails to pull the trigger on a pretty thief (Blunt doing kooky) who has defrauded an effortlessly sinister Rupert Everett. What follows is a contrived series of events where Nighy serves as Blunt's bodyguard and winds up mentoring Rupert Grint (in a completely extraneous role). Martin Freeman has a few shining moments as a rival assassin, but that's largely thanks to his comedy skills. As the trio head to the countryside to hide out, the action hits a dead end and the laughs dry up, but it's the budding romance between the young free spirit and the crotchety old triggerman that really kills it.

Victor Maynard is a middle-aged, solitary assassin who lives to please his formidable mother, despite his own peerless reputation for lethal efficiency. His professional routine is interrupted when he finds himself drawn to one of his intended victims. After sparing her life, he unexpectedly acquires a young apprentice. Believing Victor to be a private detective, his two new companions tag along, while he attempts to thwart the murderous attentions of his unhappy client.