This movie is fascinating on all levels. When you hear the premise and that David Fincher wanted to make this movie for over 20 years now, you imagine something dark, gritty and “Finchery”. We all know and love his uniquely twisted style. But The Killer is not what you might expect; it certainly wasn’t what I expected. It’s a fascinating movie because I had to read a review on Letterboxd by my internet friend Foster (give him a follow; he’s worth it) to understand that this is, in fact, a comedy. And once I understood that and reflected on what I saw, I appreciated it much more. I think this movie will get better on any future rewatch.
I will be honest; I felt a bit dumb as it never clicked while watching the movie, but it’s so obvious. I think what The Killer (and therefore Fincher) is toying with, is the idea of us, the audience, having seen hundreds of movies about killers. How cold and calculating they all are, and they rarely make mistakes, planning their every step, knowing their enemy’s every move before they make them. And this killer, portrayed by Michael Fassbender, isn’t “bad” by any means; he simply stumbles and fumbles a lot. The movie makes a big deal of his inner monologue and how he always has his rules to do this job, only for us to watch him break every single one or not follow them at all. In that sense, The Killer is a comedy, even though you will never laugh out loud.
Speaking of inner monologue, it was badly needed, as Fassbender barely talks in this movie. The one thing I noticed whilst watching this film was if it weren’t for that inner monologue and him talking to himself throughout the movie, Michael would have barely said 100 words in the entire film. Fincher tries to create this mood/vibe where we see him do a lot with saying very little. You know, the stereotypical “alpha” protagonists who do and don’t talk. And in his case, he does something, kinda fucks it up and then finishes the job.
I missed watching Michael on the screen as he makes this role work. He’s got the chops to convince us he could be out there killing people but has that physicality as well, where he can seem menacing when he has to. His restaurant scene opposite Tilda Swinton was brilliant, as you could cut that tension with a knife. What helped was that Tilda is a great actress. She might be on the screen for only ten minutes or so, but you will remember her after this film ends. Her character is simply brilliant and almost opposed to what our killer (we never learn Fassbender’s real name) is. She eats great food and enjoys her life, whilst we see him eat mostly fast food and not enjoying himself that much.
I might write something now a few people might view sacrilegious, but this movie didn’t feel “Finchery”, unlike his other films. If I started this movie not knowing who directed it, I wouldn’t have guessed he was behind the camera. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. It just seemed odd because I always viewed him as one of the most unique directors whose directing style could be felt through the screen. And The Killer felt cold, digital-like, which I suppose must have been a purposeful choice, but still… It will be interesting to watch what Fincher has coming next.
My only slightly negative thing about The Killer is that the beginning drags on for a while. In reality, the opening sequence might have only been 15/20 minutes long, but it felt like an hour. Luckily, once our protagonist goes on this revenge against some powerful people, that is when this movie kicked into a higher gear for me. And despite the reason for him going on that revenge is shown, it was never really explained; that’s my next point. Besides him and a few other minor characters, we have no idea who is who, meaning this movie finishes, and you are left wondering about… let’s say, who else lives in his house without spoiling things.
Overall, The Killer is a uniquely fascinating movie I enjoyed, and as I mentioned above, I can’t wait to rewatch it; knowing what I know now, I think this will play much better. Fassbender shines in this role, Tilda rules in her supporting role, and besides the slow opening sequence, the movie grabs your attention and doesn’t let go. I would recommend it, but with two caveats – treat it as a dark comedy and understand that this might be the most non-Fincher-like movie he has ever done.
That’s all for this one! Did you see it? What did you think about it? Let me know!
Until next time,
Luke
