The Man Who Killed Hitler and Then the Bigfoot

The garish title may be distracting but Robert D Krzykowski's directorial debut is less pulp fiction and more of a well-crafted meditation on legend, reality and regret, galvanised by a magnetic performance from the majestic Sam Elliott (deservedly Oscar-nominated in 2019 for A Star Is Born). Elliott plays aged enigma Calvin Barr, living alone in a small New England town but haunted by memories of the lost love he left behind for secret wartime missions. The film flashes back and forth between Calvin's overseas derring-do (with Poldark star Aidan Turner doubling as the young Barr) and his twilight years, until the plot segues into creature-feature terrain when he's persuaded to hunt down a sasquatch and stop a worldwide catastrophe. Unfortunately, the narrative doesn't always hang together but there's no doubting Krzykowski's feature bow is a labour of love: it's visually good-looking, sustained by a rich romantic score (from Joe Kraemer) and punctuated by memorable scenes, including a sly nod to The Man with the Golden Gun.