If there’s been any kind of through-line to Richard Linklater’s long and varied career – besides spotlighting his love for his native Texas – it’s been his relentless pursuit of exploring our true selves, and how it often clashes against our public persona. In his latest, Hit Man, it’s his most overt effort to showcase this, and it gives its star Glen Powell the chance to show he can be a bona fide movie star.

After making a splash at the Venice and Toronto International Film Festivals last fall and subsequent smaller festivals in the intervening months, Linklater’s film will finally be available to the masses on Netflix. Despite being based on a Texas Monthly article by Skip Hollandsworth, Hit Man feels freshly original, while taking elements from several disparate genres. Hollandsworth’s article, adapted for the screen by Powell and Linklater, is based on the true story of Gary Johnson, a mild-mannered philosophy professor who gets pulled into being an undercover informant.

Powell plays Johnson, who simply works part-time for the New Orleans police, often tagging along on surveillance missions as they try to nab people soliciting hitmen. But when Jasper (Austin Amelio), the department’s regular detective, is suspended, Gary must fill in. Turns out he’s a natural, making himself a credible body disposer and a trustworthy sounding board for dumb and evil people.

The early sequences, as Gary becomes acquainted with the role, gives Powell a long runway to get creative and weird. As if his involvement as a co-screenwriter and producer in Hit Man wasn’t enough evidence, Powell’s performance shows how enthusiastic he was to tackle this uniquely weird character. While he’s had plenty of head-turning roles in films like Top Gun: Maverick and Everybody Wants Some!! (also directed by Linklater) and the recent Anyone But You, Hit Man should show the world that Powell is a generation-defining star who can carry genre projects and serious character work alike. Arjona holds her own as well, making Maddy a mysterious and alluring femme fatale, who’d fit right into a noir or traditional rom com.

When Gary’s meta acting bit runs the risk of getting stale, he meets Maddy (Adria Arjona), a desperate former beauty queen who wants to rid the world of her abusive husband. Crucially, Maddy backs away before “hiring” Gary, who she knows as Ron, and the two strike up a casual romance.

Powell and Arjona’s chemistry is critical to the bulk of the film, and the two are electric whenever they’re bouncing off one another, oozing star power and sex appeal. The magic of Hit Man really lies in where the line blurs between Gary as Ron, and what he can and cannot reveal to Maddy. This being a movie, of course, the two lives have to intersect, and Linklater keeps everything churning quickly while never losing sight of these characters’ investments in one another. If the film stumbles at all, it’s in its heavy-handed philosophy messages as Gary teaches to his class the value of discovering one’s true self. But it’s a minor speedbump in what is otherwise one of the most fun films of the year.

Many filmmakers have tried and failed to balance a number of conflicting tones, but a journeyman director like Linklater has such a firm grasp on the material within Hit Man that everything balances together nicely. Within a single scene, the film can shift from a steamy romance, to a hysterical comedy, to a crime thriller and more, all on the backs of its stars and the strength of its screenplay. Hearing all the buzz out of the fall festivals, and how great of a theatrical experience Hit Man is, it’s undeniable how much better the film would play with a crowd. Not having that luxury, I can confirm that watching this film at home, while never as enjoyable as the alternative, is still an engaging romp. And in an era of streaming content that doesn’t require your full attention, that’s a gift we shouldn’t take for granted.

Hit Man will be available to stream on Netflix on June 7.

OSCAR POTENTIAL:

• Richard Linklater has never really made films that cater to the Academy’s sensibilities. I could see a world where the film could find its way into one or two of the Best Comedy/Musical categories at the Golden Globes. If the film sticks around long enough, and Netflix campaigns hard enough for it, and if the category is weak enough, I could even see a world where Linklater and Powell’s screenplay could be one of those “lone screenplay” nominees (in the Adapted category, of course).