It was 2001. We were obsessed with low-rise jeans, boy bands, and the promise of a movie that finally put the two biggest movie stars on the planet in the same frame. I’m talking about The Mexican.
Looking back, the cast of The Mexican is a bit of a fever dream. You had Brad Pitt at his absolute peak, freshly minted from Fight Club and Snatch. You had Julia Roberts, who was literally the highest-paid actress in the world at the time. On paper, it was a grand slam. In reality? It was a quirky, sweaty, violent road movie that barely let its two leads share the screen.
People expected a romantic comedy. They got a cursed gun, a lot of yelling, and James Gandolfini stealing the entire show.
The Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts Paradox
The marketing for this movie was kind of a bait-and-switch. Honestly, if you look at the posters, it looks like a rom-com set in Mexico. But the story actually keeps them apart for about 80% of the runtime.
Brad Pitt plays Jerry Welbach. He’s a bumbling bagman for the mob who has to go to Mexico to retrieve a legendary antique pistol called "The Mexican." He’s messy. He’s stressed. He spends most of the movie getting kidnapped or losing his car. It wasn't the "cool" Brad Pitt we were used to, and that’s actually why his performance holds up. He’s genuinely funny when he’s desperate.
Then you have Julia Roberts as Samantha Barzel. She’s Jerry’s girlfriend who is tired of his criminal nonsense. She packs up and heads to Las Vegas. While Jerry is dealing with the curse of the gun, Samantha is getting kidnapped by a hitman.
Because they aren't together, the chemistry people paid to see is basically relegated to a few explosive fights at the beginning and a reunion at the end. It’s a bold choice for a star-vehicle movie. Most directors would have forced them into every scene together, but Gore Verbinski (who later did Pirates of the Caribbean) wanted something weirder.
James Gandolfini: The Secret Weapon
If we’re being real, the most important member of the cast of The Mexican isn't Pitt or Roberts. It’s James Gandolfini.
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This was right in the middle of his Sopranos run. Everyone saw him as Tony Soprano—the ultimate tough guy. In this movie, he plays Winston Baldry, a hitman who kidnaps Samantha. But the twist is that Winston is gay, sensitive, and ends up becoming Samantha’s best friend/confidant during their road trip to Vegas.
The scenes between Roberts and Gandolfini are the soul of the film.
There’s this vulnerability in Gandolfini’s performance that was totally unexpected back then. He and Julia Roberts have way more chemistry than she has with Brad Pitt in this specific story. They talk about love, heartbreak, and "the moment." It’s tender. It’s strange. It’s the reason to rewatch the movie.
Sadly, James Gandolfini passed away in 2013, but his work here remains a masterclass in playing against type. He took what could have been a generic "tough guy" role and made it something deeply human.
The Supporting Players You Forgot Were There
The rest of the cast of The Mexican is filled with "hey, it's that guy" actors and some serious heavy hitters.
- J.K. Simmons: Before he was winning Oscars or yelling about pictures of Spider-Man, he was Ted Slocum in this. He’s always great at playing that sort of bureaucratic menace.
- Bob Balaban: He plays Bernie Nayman. If you need a guy to look high-strung and corporate, you hire Bob Balaban. He’s the one putting the pressure on Jerry to get the gun.
- Gene Hackman: Yeah, Oscar winner Gene Hackman is in this. He’s uncredited as Arnold Margolese, the guy who actually owns the gun. It’s a small role, but having Hackman show up just adds that layer of "prestige" to the chaos.
- Sherman Augustus: He plays the "Well Dressed Black Man" (yes, that’s the character name), a rival hitman who is essentially the Terminator of this movie.
Why the Critics Were So Confused
When it came out, the reviews were all over the place. Roger Ebert actually liked it, giving it three stars. He pointed out that the movie is really two movies joined by a phone line.
One movie is a wacky comedy in Mexico with Brad Pitt.
The other is a psychological drama in a Chrysler with Julia Roberts and James Gandolfini.
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The tonal shifts are jarring. One minute a dog is getting hit by a truck (don't worry, it’s a fake dog), and the next minute Gandolfini is giving a monologue about the nature of true love. It shouldn't work. For many people, it didn't. But for people who like "neo-noir" or "weird 2000s experiments," it’s kind of a cult classic.
The film's DP (Director of Photography) was Dariusz Wolski. He’s the guy who shot The Martian and Prometheus. You can tell. The movie looks gorgeous. The Mexican landscape is dusty and golden, while the Vegas scenes feel neon and lonely.
The Curse of the Gun: Fact vs. Fiction
A big part of the plot involves the "history" of the pistol. The movie uses these sepia-toned flashbacks to tell the story of the gun’s creator and the tragedy surrounding it.
Is the gun real? No.
The "Mexican" pistol was a prop created for the movie. However, the legends of "cursed" objects in Mexican folklore are very real. The film taps into that "American tourist in over his head" trope that was popular in the 90s and early 2000s.
It’s basically a MacGuffin. Like the briefcase in Pulp Fiction. It doesn't really matter what the gun does; it only matters that everyone wants it.
The Casting That Almost Happened
Movies this big always have a "what if" history.
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Originally, the script was intended to be a much smaller, independent film. Without the massive stars. Think more along the lines of a Sundance hit. But once DreamWorks got a hold of it, they backed the truck up for Pitt and Roberts.
There were rumors that Kevin Costner was considered for roles earlier in development. Imagine how different the energy would have been with a 90s-era Costner instead of the chaotic energy Brad Pitt brought.
Interestingly, Pitt and Roberts actually wanted to work together so badly that they both accepted lower salaries (relatively speaking) just to make the project happen. They liked the script's quirkiness. They weren't looking for a blockbuster; they were looking for something "cool."
Actionable Takeaways for Film Buffs
If you’re going to revisit the cast of The Mexican or watch it for the first time, keep these things in mind to get the most out of it:
- Watch it for Gandolfini: Don't go in expecting a Brad/Julia romance. Treat it as a James Gandolfini showcase. It’s arguably one of his best film performances.
- Appreciate the "Small" Moments: The dialogue between Samantha and Winston in the car is the best writing in the film. Pay attention to the "Regret vs. Hope" theme they discuss.
- Check the Visuals: Notice how the color palette changes between the Mexico scenes and the US scenes. It’s a classic 2000s cinematography trick that was perfected here.
- Don't Take the Plot Too Seriously: The plot is intentionally convoluted. It’s a "shaggy dog story." The joy is in the characters' reactions to the chaos, not the resolution of the mob hit.
The movie made about $147 million at the box office. It wasn't a flop, but it didn't change the world. What it did do was prove that even the biggest stars in the world could make a weird, indie-spirited movie and get people to show up.
It remains a fascinating time capsule of a moment when Hollywood was willing to spend $57 million on a movie about a cursed gun and a hitman with a heart of gold. If you haven't seen it in a decade, it’s probably time for a rewatch, if only to see Brad Pitt struggle with a manual transmission in the middle of the desert.
Next Steps for Your Movie Night
If you enjoyed the vibe of The Mexican, your next move should be checking out True Romance (written by Tarantino) or Get Shorty. Both capture that same blend of criminal underworld stakes mixed with genuinely funny, human dialogue. You could also dive into Gore Verbinski's earlier work like Mouse Hunt to see where his dark, slapstick sensibilities started. Or, if you want more Gandolfini, True Romance features him in a much darker, yet equally magnetic, role.