Bruno Ganz is perfectly cast, if cast somewhat against type, in this offbeat film about a hit man on the job. Inspired by an interview given to the French daily Le Monde by a professional killer, and utilizing extracts from the interview in the soundtrack, the fictional account follows Ganz as he changes identities, switches rented cars, moves from one hotel to another, and cannily shadows his victim. A resolutely documentary style and Ganz's portrayal of the killer as one more man in a grey flannel suit mock the singularly sinister nature of his endeavor. This invites a certain distance on the part of the viewer, but, as one German-language critic noted, "Schaffhauser tries to avoid creating tension and yet at the same time creates a feeling of fearful unease in expectation of the unavoidable outcome....And the victim only gains a personality when it is too late."