The Contract is the name of several films and among these the 2006 thriller had stars like Morgan Freeman and John Cusack who made the film fameous and known.The following is a summary of this famous iteration with brief references to other movies which share the same title as this one.
1. The Contract ( 2006)
- Director : Bruce Beresford
- Starring : Morgan Freeman, John Cusack, Alice Krige
- Genre : Thriller / Action Plot: The main plot revolves around Ray Keene played by John Cusack a former cop who is on a camping excursion with his teenage son, Ray comes across Frank Carden played by Morgan Freeman a professional hitman who has been injured in a road accident. As soon as Ray finds out that Collins is on the run from his team of criminals, he resolves to hand him over to the police. This route, however, brings Ray and his son in the crosshairs of dangerous murdering criminals, and seeing nowhere to escape, turn to a survival game zone. Themes and Style: The Contract is a tale about choices that people are forced to make, about the will to survive through even the most difficult of circumstances, and about second chances. It opposes Ray’s wish to be the good person with Frank’s world of being an assassin, making Freeman first clash with Cusack’s character quite interesting. The tension is furthered by the wilderness setting, and the father’s son ambiance contributes to the dramatic feel of the tension.
Reception: The film stands terms with two figures occupying pole positions, with Freeman and Cusack’s acting work absorbing enough approval from reviewers but the story presented fails to escape the realm of insomnia inducing action scenes in thrillers. Nevertheless, The Contract has developed a cult-like following among certain people who have a taste for Freeman and Cusack and the other people who appreciate a good survival thriller movies with a moral complexity to it.
Other Films with the Title “The Contract”
There are several other films with the same title The Contract but with different storylines and genres:
- The Contract (2002) – A family thriller directed by K C Bascombe with a deadly contract that should not be signed and which features actress Regina King.
- The Contract (1999) – British television film featuring Christopher Fulford , about crime and revenge
All ‘Contract’ titles have nearly the same concept of treaties or pacts with intricacies of life or death, however all convey their story from different angles owing to the circumstances and the characters in the plot.
Recommendation
If you’re looking for gripping suspense with tone perfect for cliff hanging situations combined with cultic devotion to the hero, The Contract (2006) is an excellent candidate with outstanding performances from the leads Freeman and Cusack. Viewers who enjoyed more movies of the kind like, Cliffhanger, and The Edge will certainly enjoy this one as well because this film covers most of the aspects of survival thriller.