The American, Anton Corbijn’s thriller, based on Martin Booth’s A Very Private Gentleman, features a gunmaker’s picnic with a client. Hired to make a high-powered sniper’s rifle, Jack is unconcerned about how it will be used. It’s just a job at which he’s expert. The picnic is an excuse for ironic pleasantries.
For a test run of the nearly completed rifle, Jack takes his client, Mathilde, for a picnic. at which he intends to socialize. In addition to food and wine, he packed the disassembled rifle like a giant hero sandwich. Mathilde, who is all business, watches him intently and wants to test the rifle before eating. When the test is over, they chit-chat about bullets, “I shall require the rounds and the weapon at the end of next week,” she says, “In the meantime, would you mind adjusting the screws on the sight?”
Corbijn is vague about what’s in Jack’s wicker. On the other hand, according to Booth, is very precise: 50g (1.8 oz) of Pecorino, 100g (3.5 oz) of Prosciutto, bread, apples, and Aspirinio and Moscato. This precision is telltale for an expert gunsmith.
See: Anton Corbijn. The American (2010). The screenplay by Rowan Joffe is based on Martin Booth’s novel A Very Private Gentleman (2004)