The Mexican is a 2001 movie by director Gore Verbinski starring Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts, with a plot that is an unusual mixture of romantic comedy and road movie.
The script was originally intended to be filmed as an independent production without major motion picture stars, but Roberts and Pitt, who had for some time been looking for a project they could do together, learned about it and decided to make it. The movie was then advertised as a typical romantic comedy star vehicle, somewhat misleadingly, as the script does not focus solely on the Pitt/Roberts relationship and the two share relatively little screen time together. Ultimately, the film earned $66.8 million at the U.S box office.[1]
Plot
The plot is about Jerry Welbach's (Pitt) trials and tribulations as he tries to get a famous antique gun, The Mexican, out of Mexico and into the United States. Five years earlier he had caused a traffic accident in which he hit the car of local mobster Arnold Margolese, who then had to go to jail for five years when the police searched his car after the crash. As a compensation for the jail time, Jerry is sent on various errands by Margolese's second-in-command, Bernie Nayman (Bob Balaban). His girlfriend, Samantha (Julia Roberts), constantly argues with him about his lack of commitment to the relationship, among other things.
It quickly becomes clear to Jerry that his final assignment by Margolese will be difficult, as the gun seems to carry a curse. The various tellings of the history of the gun and the cause of the curse are a running joke throughout the movie. Each telling of the gun's story involve a master gunsmith in a small Mexican town in the late 19th century, who creates the pistol for a nobleman's son coming to town. He also has hopes that the nobleman's son will take a liking to his daughter, ensuring a good life for her. However, the gunsmith's young assistant already has feelings for the daughter, unbeknown to the gunsmith. Certain tellings of the legend state that at this point, the "curse" was placed on the pistol by the young assistant to ensure it did not operate when fired. When the nobleman's son comes to town, he is presented the finely crafted weapon, as well as the gunsmith's daughter. He is then asked to fire the pistol for the first time. The nobleman's son takes aim against a piece of pottery and pulls the trigger, but the gun does not fire. Eventually, it is noticed by the nobleman's son that the gunsmith's daughter and assistant are staring at each other, lovingly. Enraged that she has eyes for a mere commoner instead of him, he tosses the apparently defective pistol aside, then aims his own pistol at the young assistant. The daughter quickly grabs the cursed pistol from the ground and aims it at the nobleman's son, causing the guards to raise their weapons upon her. Fearing that he will lose her whether the pistol operates correctly or not, the assistant pleads for her to lower her weapon. She reluctantly agrees, and the nobleman's son takes advantage of the situation by firing upon the assistant. Losing the one man she truly loved, she decides to put the cursed pistol to her own head and end her life as well. The nobleman's son laughs at the sight, figuring the pistol will not work. She then pulls the trigger, and the pistol fires perfectly, killing her.
As Jerry wanders around Mexico searching for the antique pistol, a man called Leroy (James Gandolfini) kidnaps Samantha, thinking that she has the gun. Leroy then assures Samantha that she is safe, as he is only looking for the gun to return to Margolese. He assures her that everything will be fine once she gets Jerry to turn the gun over to him. Leroy takes her on the road with him to meet Jerry at the airport, in order to make a trade for the pistol. It is revealed that Leroy is not the only one after Sam, as a menacing-looking black man tries to capture her. Leroy surprises him, however, injuring his arm. Leroy then escapes with Sam, hitting the road. Along the way, Samantha notices a tattoo on his arm with the name "Winston". When she asks who he is, he tells her "someone I don't like very much." Along the way, the two begin to open up to each other, finding a small friendship. Sam eventually discovers that Leroy is homosexual after catching him staring at a man. She convinces him to make a move, and the man joins them for the day at their hotel room. While Samantha and Leroy are out of their hotel room, the mysterious stranger from earlier breaks in, snooping around. He then discovers Leroy's friend in the room, who does not notice him. When Leroy and Sam return to the room, they discover that Leroy's friend is dead. In the room, Leroy spots a cigarette in the ashtray that does not belong to him, still fresh. At that point, the stranger returns to the room to search for the two. Leroy gets the drop on him yet again, this time finishing the job and killing the man.
Jerry winds up in one predicament after another in Mexico, preventing him from making his flight. Samantha and Leroy then head down to Mexico to find Jerry, so that they can return the pistol and go on with their lives. Bernie, now fed up with Jerry, decides to go down to Mexico as well, to get the pistol himself, as well as kill Jerry. Sam and Leroy find Jerry first, but wind up wrecking the car during an argument. Samantha storms off down the road, while Jerry tries to change a flat tire. As Leroy sits in the car, he discovers that Jerry has the cursed pistol in his possession. He decides to finish Jerry off as he changes the flat tire, but lowers his gun at the last minute due to passing cars (witnesses). He then offers to help with the tire, not realizing that Jerry saw him with the firearm in the hubcap's reflection. Jerry then points his own gun at Leroy's back, which Leroy quickly realizes. A shot is fired, which Samantha hears, prompting her to run back to the car. When she arrives, she finds Leroy dead, and begins to cry. She screams at Jerry, who tries to tell her that he is not really Leroy. He explains that he met Leroy at a party a few years ago, and that he was black, indicating that the stranger chasing them in the U.S. was in fact Leroy. A look in the dead man's wallet shows that his name was in fact Winston, just like his tattoo.
Jerry is kidnapped, however, and winds up in the presence of Margolese. Margolese explains that he wanted the pistol so that he could return it to its rightful owner, the descendant of the gunsmith. Jerry then agrees to return the pistol to the aging descendant, and is taken back to his hotel room. Bernie, however, is already there, demanding the pistol in exchange for Samantha. When it is discovered that she is in the trunk of Jerry's car, he explains she is the only one who knows its location. Bernie opens the trunk, revealing a very irate Samantha wielding the cursed pistol. After a brief, intense standoff, Samantha eventually fires the cursed pistol, causing a small gold wedding ring to fall out. Bernie stands still for a moment, apparently unharmed, but then reveals a bullet hole in his neck, killing him. Jerry then takes the ring, proposing to Samantha, and the two begin their trip back to the United States.
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