In Alfred Hitchcock’s “Strangers on a Train,” the psychopathic Bruno, played by Robert Walker, asks a few very proper looking ladies how they would kill their husbands if so inclined. The diabolical ideas they come up with amusingly demonstrate that there can be a violent streak in the most unsuspected places.

There is a key scene in “The Matador” in which Brosnan as professional killer Julian Noble turns up at the Denver home of the un-killer-like couple, Kinnear as Danny Wright and Davis as his wife Bean. When she is astonished to learn Julian’s profession, she gets a mischievous look on her face and asks, “Can I see your gun?” It is a wickedly comic moment expressing an intrigue with violence that is important to what is really going on in this clever film.

To rewind a bit, Julian meets Danny in a bar in Mexico, where Danny is trying to close a business deal important to his career and make him a winner instead of a debt-ridden loser, and Julian, who is lonely and spends his spare time boozing and fornicating, insinuates himself into Danny’ life. Danny can’t believe what Julian finally tells him he does for a living. A slick demonstration of how it can be done is a scary but eye-opening experience for Danny. How far will the film go in shaking things up?

The screenplay raises assorted possibilities, which add to the dark comedy aspect, but Shepard as writer and director never loses sight of the entertainment ingredients, whether starting with a comic twist to one of the jobs Julian is assigned or mining humor from the interaction between Julian and Danny, and Julian and Bean. The film moves along at a rapid clip, with droll situations and an element of suspense as well. It never lets you assume what you can expect next.

Phillip Baker Hall has a smooth role as the link between Julian and his hit jobs, and is loyally sympathetic when Julian seems to be losing his touch through burnout.