Film Review - The Killer
Images courtesy of Netflix.
In a world obsessed with John Wick, as well as its various imitators, it seems rare that we get a film that shakes up the revenge genre. There’ve been some attempts at putting a new spin on the formula, such as Pig, the excellent You Were Never Really Here, or Becky, amongst other horror films that have opted to lean into the more bloody side of things - but it seems rare that these films are able to get the attention that they deserve in such a bloated market. Post-Taken, it can feel as though the ingredients have been whittled down and sorted into a guaranteed recipe for success, or at least, for its target audience of teenage boys and middle-aged Dads.
Entering stage left is The Killer, David Fincher’s latest collaboration with Netflix. Starring Michael Fassbender as the titular unnamed killer, the film follows a hitman who finds himself in the crosshairs after a contract goes south. While Fincher may be known to most as the director behind Fight Club and Se7en, The Killer sees him marrying his intense eye for razor-sharp visuals with subject matter that may seem relatively dry at first, but is surprisingly self-reflective underneath its slick veneer. A movie about a perfectionist assassin fits like a glove for Fincher’s stylistic sensibilities, what with his love of centred, shallow-focus shots and ultra-dark lighting. Everything in his films feels supremely mechanical in nature, and while that can lead to detractors complaining of emotional dissonance, here that same quality actually works to enhance the feeling of being in the mind of such a character.
Fassbender absolutely bodies the role, and after a decade of him being the shining star in more than a few films that felt otherwise undeserving of his talents, it seems fitting that the director of Gone Girl - a film that made people forget that Ben Affleck used to be in Kevin Smith films, and that Tyler Perry was Tyler Perry - would finally give him something worth sinking his teeth into. The killer is the perfect allegory for Fincher’s career, with his slow, methodical, and at times over-intellectualised approach. Yet through his small mistakes, the mask begins to slip and we see that there is indeed a human underneath the facade. At one point, the eponymous narrator questions himself, “How's not giving a fuck going?”.
Though the story bears many similarities to its more typical kin, The Killer finds a way to have its cake and eat it too, offering one of the best action scenes all year during the latter half of its runtime, even as the rest of the film remains free of hedonistic thrills. There's a sharp glee to be felt in its ice-cold approach to the subject matter, offering a refreshing return to form for its director after the misfire of Mank. Plus, Michael Fassbender gets to deliver nonchalant ASMR-style monologues about murder while listening to The Smiths.
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The Killer is screening in cinemas and on Netflix now. For more info, click here.