Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005)
Mr. & Mrs. Smith is a 2005 American action comedy film directed by Doug Liman and written by Simon Kinberg. The film stars Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie as a bored upper middle class married couple surprised to learn that they are assassins belonging to competing agencies, and that they have been assigned to kill each other. Besides being a box office hit, Mr. & Mrs. Smith also established Pitt and Jolie’s personal relationship. The film was released in the United States on June 10, 2005. It received mixed reviews from critics and grossed $487 million worldwide.
Plot:
John, a construction executive and Jane, a tech support consultant are answering questions during marriage counselling. The couple has been married for five or six years, but their marriage is on the rocks. They talk about how they first met in Bogotá, Colombia claiming to be together to avoid being questioned by Colombian authorities; the two fell in love and got married. In reality, John and Jane are both skilled field operatives and work for separate contract killing firms; they are both among the best in their field and adept at concealing their true profession from the other. The Smiths live in a large Colonial Revival house in the suburbs keeping up appearances by reluctantly socializing with their “conventionally” wealthy neighbors.RELATED:
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Underneath their cover stories, John and Jane balance their marriage which is apparently mundane —after a few years both agree it is becoming dull and suffocating—with their secretive career. After they are both assigned to kill DIA prisoner Benjamin “the Tank” Danz in a prison transfer, they run into each other on the job and the hit is botched.
Danz survives; John and Jane are assigned to kill each other instead. After attempts on each other’s lives escalate, the Smiths’ conflict ends in a massive shootout which nearly demolishes their home. During a protracted, evenly matched fight, they pull guns aiming at each other’s head. John declines to shoot saying that he loves Jane and lays his gun down.
Jane discovers that she cannot shoot John either and they spend a passionate night together. The renewed Smith partnership is quickly threatened by their employers who join forces to eliminate the couple.
Eddie, John’s best friend and co-worker turns down a bounty of $400,000 for each of them. The Smiths find themselves under attack from an army of assassins. Their pockmarked house is blown up, the Smiths steal their neighbor’s minivan, and are able to destroy their attackers’ three pursuing armored sedans while they bicker about their fighting styles and personal secrets they have discovered about each other. They meet with Eddie and decide to save their marriage.
Casting:
Nicole Kidman was originally cast as Jane Smith, however Brad Pitt dropped out from the film and Kidman left as a result. Doug Liman then considered Will Smith and Catherine Zeta-Jones as the leads; Johnny Depp and Cate Blanchett were also set to be cast. Pitt returned when Gwyneth Paltrow was cast as Jane. Paltrow later quit leading to Angelina Jolie coming on board. Gwen Stefani also auditioned for Jane Smith.
Box office:
Mr. & Mrs. Smith opened on June 10, 2005 in the United States and Canada in 3,424 theaters. The film ranked at the top in its opening weekend, accumulating $50,342,878. Mr. & Mrs. Smith went on to gross $186,336,279 in North America and had a worldwide total of $478,207,520. It was the highest-grossing film for both superstars Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, but was later surpassed by World War Z for Pitt and Maleficent for Jolie.