Editor's Note: The following contains Bullet Train spoilers.It's almost cliché at this point to describe Brad Pitt as a character actor in a leading man's body. But, that phrase gets repeated throughout the internet for a reason, because in a lot of cases it is completely true. More so than a lot of his other projects, Brad Pitt really puts this ability to the test in the new David Leitch film Bullet Train. Judging by the trailers, Pitt's character Ladybug seems like a shoe in for a standard action hero. A capable man with exceptional skills that leads him into almost always being in control in any fight scene. The type of archetype the Pitt has played in the past in movies like World War Z and Mr. and Mrs. Smith. But the second he is introduced in this new film, it is immediately clear that couldn't be further than the truth.
His introduction scene has him heading towards the terminal of the train the movie takes place on, talking on his cell phone to an unseen handler, who is voiced by a surprise cameo that dare not be spoiled. On this phone call Ladybug reveals that he is a sub on this mission, taking over for another hitman who called out sick. He is also recently out of therapy and trying to live a better, mentally healthier life while also maintaining his career as a contract killer. This whole scene serves to establish his backstory and issues with luck over the years, which is why his codename in the film is Ladybug.
Ladybug feels like he has chronic bad luck, describing it as when he has one target, two other people will die without him doing anything. Symbolically, ladybugs often represent good luck, and his handler gave him this moniker in an attempt to help him look at the positive side and see his alleged bad luck as a good thing.
Through this conversation with his handler, it is also shown that the other reason he has been in therapy and spends a lot of the movie quoting his therapist, is because this bad luck has given him chronic anxiety. This alone makes Ladybug stand out as a unique action hero. Normally action heroes have a specific set of qualifications, and these qualifications were set in place in roles typically played by actors like Brad Pitt. They have to be strong, more or less emotionless besides a sense of smugness, they have to always be in control, they have to be absolutely yoked, and they have to be super adept at fighting and shooting guns. But in this movie Pitt certainly doesn't look bad, but he's not really hiding that he's nearing his 60s either. He wears these super baggy and dorky tourist clothes that make him look like any other average tourist, he seems to only win fights on accident, he is constantly on the phone with his handler because he needs the constant reassurance that he is doing his job correctly, and all of this is enhanced by his chronic anxiety. But the thing this movie smartly does with this anxious character trait, is turning it into something beneficial for an action hero instead of just being for a joke.
Listing off some basic habits and side effects of chronic anxiety that Ladybug shows through the film, there is hypervigilance making him overly alert to their surrounds and actions, a general sense of panic, the need for constant reassurance, and hyperventilation. These are not the only symptoms that chronic anxiety can give someone, but, speaking from experience, they are symptoms that he exhibits and are relatively common for people who live with anxiety disorders. While in real life these symptoms are things that must be learned to live with and/or overcome depending on the person and situation, the creative team behind the film realized that these aspects kind of make for amazing qualities to have in an action star.
While his bad luck essentially gives Ladybug the superpower of failing upwards, his anxiety symptoms are actually what's making him succeed. His hypervigilance causes him to be constantly assessing his surroundings and the people he is interacting with. Being able to transition this habit into an ability that helps him pretty accurately read people. He is able to talk his way out of some fights, hilariously repeating the therapy mantra of "hurt people, hurt people" while trying to deescalate an action sequence. He's able to get on the same page with his enemies for an outcome that ultimately helps everyone instead of just causing more physical damage to the train and passengers. His need for constant reassurance, being on the phone with his handler nearly the entire film, also makes him better at his job. Instead of residing himself on how he's going to get out of a situation and making it worse like Tangerine (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), he's actually working with someone on problem-solving. Even the hyperventilation that he gets when under extreme stress, like when he accidentally kills the hitman The Wolf (Bad Bunny) after that character only has what feels like 90 seconds of screen time, also helps him control his breathing when fighting.
Ladybug's whole shtick in this movie isn't just for sight gags to keep action more interesting, it also thematically works as a really extreme representation on how proper therapy can benefit your life with the right application. Pitt's charisma and comedic timing as a character actor really helps sell this too because he truly does come off like a character from a completely different movie who just so happened to wander into this one. It keeps the action scenes fresh, it really plays with the audiences expectations of what a Brad Pitt Action Hero should be, and it all serves to make the film a lot more than the sum of its parts.
Bullet Train didn't need to implement realistic depictions of living with an anxiety disorder, but the fact that it did is what makes the film something special. It's not even like it's specifically the representation of a mental disorder that makes it interesting, it's just using specific character traits anybody can have to make a story and characters more interesting. This doesn't just go for Ladybug either, every character in this film are just as deep, three-dimensional, and complexly written. It's the little details and characterizations like this that make Bullet Train one of the highlights of a stacked summer movie season.