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SPOILER ALERT:
Film - The Killer (2023) / Based on 'The Killer' Graphic Novel Comic
Directed by: David Fincher
Written by: Alexis Nolent, Luc Jacamon, Andrew Kevin Walker
Starring: Michael Fassbender, Tilda Swinton, Charles Parnell
What happens when you cross the world’s greatest hitman? The Killer follows a world-class hitman as the audience dives deep inside the psyche and mind of a killer. We first meet him in an abandoned construction site as he stretches and moves his muscles to stay sharp and centered. It tells us that’s been here for a while and he’s done this dozens of times before. He surveys the area around him making sure to spot every possible loose end in sight. From his disguise to his movements, everything is calculated. In his head, we hear his mantra,
Forbid empathy. Empathy is a weakness. Weakness is vulnerability.
This phrase echoes throughout the movie constantly, as if the Killer himself needs a reminder, that no matter how someone might beg or plea when the time comes, the deed must be done. Any form of morality or empathy is a weakness and could cost you your life and the mission at hand. He reassures the audience that he is one of the few not one of the many and that is it better that way.
Night falls and the Killer uses the meat and sleeping pills to tranquilize the dog so he won’t bark. He slowly makes his way into the target house, cold and calculated as usual, except it doesn’t take long for his plan to fall flat once more, no matter how much he planned. While searching for his target in the house, the brute breaks through the door and begins to pumple the killer. After tusling for a few minutes the Killer analysis and symbolism is able to get the upper hand and dispatches of the brute by shooting him in the head. It’s messy but he gets the job done eventually. Before leaving the house the dog wakes up and begins to chase him, he narrowly escapes and puts the bottle to good use by lighting the house on fire with a Molotov cocktail. He cleverly keeps the dog alive to make sure it doesn’t look like an assassination but rather a drive or arson situation as the condo burns with the body inside.
With those who wronged him and his wife dead on the ground, the killer makes one last stop, the client. In Chicago, he finds the gym/resort that his target is staying at and steals a janitor's keycard by slyly ripping it off his uniform. He makes his way into the locker room and opens up the client's locker before copying over his FOB with a device he bought online, this is to get into the client's room with a keycard copy, he could’ve broken into the room any other way but this is the professional way. Once inside he stands face to face with his client and after hearing him for a bit it becomes clear that he has no idea who the killer is thus the killer spares his life but threatens him with a final warning that if he tries anything his death will be painful, leaving him with the unease that he’d find a way to kill him within a second.
And that’s what happens when you cross the world’s greatest hitman.
David Fincher’s latest movie is a sleek and clean portrayal of a hitman with an extremely compelling and composed performance by Michael Fassbender. It is the closest thing to a hitman movie I’ve ever seen. For those of you who may not know, hitman is a long-running video game series that takes you around the world as you tackle missions as a hitman. There is a lot of similarities between the game and the movie.
One of the primary themes of the movie and one of the mantras that continues to be repeated throughout is the idea of sticking to the plan and cutting all lose ends. He is blocked off from everyone that he comes into contact with and looks at them for opportunity or bait. The Killer’s mindset is cynical and realistic. It is surprisingly humorous as well as the voiceover includes jokes and a dark humor to it, similar in the way that Patrick Bateman does in American Psycho.
Visually the movie shines as Fincher utilizes his classic saturated, warm color tone and the sharp camera cuts and pans, similar to the Killer’s actions. There is a sterile look to the movie that works so well with the killings that are taking place. One of the interesting criticisms I had with the film was the inconsistency of the Killer review and his actions. The film makes a point, or rather the protagonist does, that they are skilled and one of the best in the world, yet there are several moments in the movie that our protagonist is put in unfavorable situations of his own doing, particularly his first missed shot and the Floridian job where he engages in a messy hand to hand fight with his target, for which he barely survives. The movie sells the idea that he’s a pro but doesn’t hesitate to fall back on mistakes.
17 сен 2024
