The Killer (2023) Director: Ridley Scott Starring: Michael Fassbender, Arliss Howard, Charles Parnell, Kerry O'Malley, Sala Baker, Sophie Charlotte, Tilda Swinton
Certificate: 15 Running Time: 118 Minutes
Tagline: Excution is everything.
There are a number of film directors I would call myself a fan of but David Fincher has never really been a name I'd put on that list. Looking though his filmography, he probably should be - I love Seven and The Game, and I've seen six (I think) more of his films, most of which are excellent - but no, I didn't really follow his career and/or works in progress like I do with a few other directors. It was therefore a surprise when I saw someone on social media excitedly talking about The Killer's upcoming release, but I soon found myself sharing this person's excitement for some reason. "Oh yeah", I thought. "Fincher... He has a new film and it seems likely that it's about a killer - could be good. Maybe I'll even go to the cinema for this one!" Imagine my surprise, therefore, to find it staring at me on Netflix a couple of nights later. My viewing plans for the evening were swiftly cancelled and I pressed 'play'.
It was soon clear that The Killer is not one of those pesky films with a pretentious title that has nothing to do with the story at hand. It stars the much-lauded Fassbender as an unnamed contract killer hanging out in a dilapidated room across the road from a swanky Paris hotel. Here, he is patiently waiting for his target to turn up. During this wait and beyond, in addition to eating, exercising and listening to music, he gives us the low-down via voiceover on what it takes to be a hitman. As you might imagine, certain hand-to-hand combat and firearms skills come in handy, but what 'the killer' (who, for review purposes, we'll call Randy) emphasises is the more mental side - preparation, focus, patience, discipline, attention to detail, and of course the right (or wrong, as the case may be) moral and emotional mindset all play an equally important, perhaps more important role as well.
Over twenty minutes we spend in that threadbare room with Randy (five days for him) before his target finally shows up, all the while his lessons on being a hitman/assassin continue, including his subsequent getaway and return to his home in the Dominican Republic, only to find it has been broken into and his girlfriend attacked, leaving her in intensive care. Was it payback from a fellow professional or maybe just a hapless local hood looking for an easy score? In either case, it's probably not the best idea to hurt the only person a professional murderer cares about. Suffice to say, Randy immediately begins investigating with intentions no more noble than revenge. His efforts lead him to - and through - a number of dangerous people, each another rung up the ladder until he reaches the top and the person most accountable.
So yes, The Killer is basically little more than a revenge thriller. A very stylish one to be sure, but besides Randy's musings on people and life in general, there's no real depth here. Not that there's anything wrong with that - revenge thrilliers are among my favourite types of films. Willing a highly-skilled and motivated badass to exact bloody retribution on deserving scum who have wronged him or her is highly entertaining, not to mention therapautic. There's an element of wish fulfillment to some of them, I guess. But therein lies The Killer's problem for me: the people Randy is hunting down are no worse than he is. If that. They have only hurt someone as far as we've seen, after all. Randy kills people. Someone is his line of work has to expect some degree of blowback, no matter how thorough they might be, right?
Don't get me wrong, it's a decent enough film in most ways. Aside from Randy's extensive voiceovers, there's isn't a massive amount of dialogue, but what's here is fine, as is the excellent camerawork, sets, location work and all that stuff. The soundtrack is also great if you like Randy's favourite band which is apparently The Smiths. Fassbender is the only actor with significant screen time and he does a superb job of convincing you he's a cold, calculating killer. Out of all the others, standouts inclide Tilda Swinton as a similarly nameless assassin, Charles Parnell as Randy's handler, Kerry O'Malley as his unfortunate secretary, and Sala Baker as a monstrous assassin with whom Randy has a long, brutal fight.
However well made the film might be, though, it's missing one vital ingredient - a sympathetic central character. He's not a charismatic, charming antihero. He's not a man we can cheer on as he takes out the bad guys in comically creative ways. He is the bad guy. He's just a killer. A largely emotionless, utterly ruthless, multiple murderer. He would need to have at least some appealing qualities beyond soulless efficiency and dedication to his craft to make him and his 'plight' anywhere even approaching sympathetic. It's not Fassbender's fault, he's an excellent actor. I just wish the character was one worth rooting for. It's a slick film that's worth watching as it has some great scenes, but I didn't give a crap whether 'The Killer' was successful in gaining his vengeance or not, and that can't be what Fincher was going for?
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