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(113023) The Killer is an entertaining and engrossing action film
about a paid assassin. Not to be confused with Kubrick’s The Killing, or Don
Siegel’s The Killers, or John Woo’s The Killer. Instead this film was based on an acclaimed French graphic novel
series titled "The Killer" which was written by Alex “Matza’ and illustrated by
Luc Jacamon and has been carried in America by BOOM! Studio's Archaia line of
comics. The little-known (at least in America and non-BOOM! readers) graphic novel series is
about the day-to-day adventures of a cold blooded, methodical contract killer
who is portrayed perfectly in the film by Michael Fassbender. It would be
difficult to imagine a much better adaptation of the source material.
It’s the best cinematic adaptation of a comic book or graphic novel I’ve seen
all year, and it includes some of the year’s finest dialogue and cinematography
by Eric Messerschmidt (who also worked on Fincher’s gorgeously shot Mank). Look
for an update to my column soon on the best comic and graphic novel films which
will include this film and the disappointing
The Marvels.
Even with its dark tone the film is currently perched in the number 1 spot on
Netflix and with minimal publicity (I never saw a trailer for it) it has already
attracted over 27 million viewers. Despite the high quality of the film,/which
is almost perfect in its first half, it doesn’t have much of a chance of getting
major Oscar nominations. It is too hardnosed, dark, bleak, and pessimistic and
it does not offer the resolution or closure most people or Oscar voters want to
see. Also, it has no redeeming social message, it won’t make anyone feel good,
and it does not try to elevate humanity in any way. But on a purely
aesthetic scale it is extremely impressive, and it works as efficiently as a
well-oiled machine.
The film is the long-anticipated reunion of director/writer team of Seven, David
Fincher and screenplay Andrew David Walker. Fincher, despite directing the first
Alien Series film that was not a masterpiece, Fincher has a great track record.
Although I found Fight Club overrated (several people told me it was their
favorite film ever). It is undeniable that Fincher has made some of the best
and most influential crime thrillers of the past 20 years. Seven, Mank, and
Zodiac were all first rate. Also, incredibly his The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
remake somehow managed to rival the excellent original Swedish version in
quality.
Michael Fassbender (who was a good Magneto in some of the X-Men films) is perfect
playing the inhuman killer because he knows just when to under act or not display
emotion. Also, like Alain Delon in the classic Le Samourai (which is clearly
the film’s biggest influence) and the characters in Tarantino films, he is the
very essence of cool. So cool we never learn his real name and when he checks in at hotels and airports
he uses the
names of classic sitcom characters like Sam Malone, Robert Hartley, Lou Grant,
Archibald Bunker, Reuben Kincaid, Howard Cunningham and Felix Unger supposedly
so he can be anonymous, but I don’t understand why no one notices it. For
clarity’s sake I will just call him "The Killer" in this review.
Fassbender is such a fine actor I am a bit surprised he is not a bigger star. He
is known for doing edgy roles in art films, many of which are more admired and
written about than seen. Some of his best films include Shame (2011),
Prometheus
(2012), 12 Years a Slave (2013), Hunger (2008), A Dangerous Method, (2011) and
Steve Jobs (2015) which got him an Oscar nomination. He is more of an artist
than an entertainer and more of an actor than a celebrity. My suspicion is she
rarely gets the acclaim he deserves because he does not kiss enough rear ends or
aggressively do publicity. Maybe if he dated Jennifer Lopez.
Although it has been compared to the John Wick movies, it is much better than
any of them. It has more in common, at least in its world view and style, with
the works of Quentin Tarantino and Roberto Rodriquez. It has some of the flavor
of a Tarantino film (Kill Bill more than Pulp Fiction) without as much
postmodern self-reflexivity, and it has as much visual style as a Roberto
Rodriquez film (although it does not call attention to itself as much) with not
as much over the top violence (I’m thinking of Sin City and Assassin.)
But "The Killer" has more psychological complexity than most of its influences,
The film gets totally into the tough world and cynical mind of its contract
killer protagonist. There is almost no dialogue, and most of it is through his
point of view and he tells most of his story in voice over narration like a
cinematic equivalent of the old Punisher War Zone comic.
You get the sense that some terrible events have made The Killer totally lose
faith in humankind which helps make him ok with his cold-blooded murders. At one
point he declares,” To all those who believe in the inherent goodness of
mankind. Where exactly what exactly do you base this on?”
But he does try to justify them when he declares:” Eight people die every second
at the same time 4.2 people are born. Nothing I will ever do will ever make a
dent in this.”
The film does for contract killing what Croupier did for gambling, and the film
gets the viewer deeper into a profession than any recent other film I can think
of. He shares his methodology and secrets to his profession, making the viewers
his accomplices. At one point he talks about the importance of blending in the
modern world, and he even says, “Since avoiding being seen is impossible now we
can at least avoid being memorable.” He also implies he dresses like a German
tourist because they have such bad reps no one wants to interact with one.
The film gets going when The Killer puts himself in jeopardy by screwing up a
hit which means his life is forfeit. He is about to shoot his French diplomat
target when a comely dominatrix dances in front and takes the shot intended for
someone else. When he gets home, he finds that his girlfriend Magdala is
missing, and his house has been ransacked and most of his belongings destroyed.
He finds his girlfriend in the hospital and because she was brutally beaten by
the men looking for him. His affection for her is only vulnerability and it’s
the only thing that makes him a human being. During the rest of the film the
killer dedicates himself to wiping out any employers or coworkers who want to
kill him (one of them is memorably played by Tilda Swinton).
The film benefits from a terrific soundtrack which combines many classics by The
Smiths with atmospheric new techno songs from Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (of
Nine Inch Nails), Fincher's former collaborators on Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
.
The film features one of the best uses of Smith songs ever in a film. When the
hit man is about to shoot his intended victim and acting the most inhuman, we
hear “I’m human and I need to be loved just like anyone else does“ on the
soundtrack from “How Soon is Now,” giving the scene an unmistakable ironic
undercurrent.
Spoiler alert: The film’s conclusion is a satisfactory resolution, but it in
no way equals the heart pounding intensity of the first hour. But I can
understand why the film ends as it does because the filmmakers want it to follow
the graphic novel storyline from the first of that series and so it can leave room for
a sequel. The ending is the only reason I did not give the film four stars
although I was sorely tempted.
But for the first hour and a half or so this film is more gripping, and it has
more edge of your seat suspense than any recent thriller. At times it almost
reaches a Hitchcock or Brian De Palmas at his prime level of quality. If you are
a fan of noir or crime films or movies with a dark intensity and are not
allergic to violence you owe it to yourself to see this at least once. I have a
hunch it will age well, and I will probably watch it several times.
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