On the surface, David Fincher’s The Killer may seem like just another generic serial killer film, but with further inspection, it becomes evident that it is his most meditative and personal work to date.
Based on a French graphic novel series of the same name and written by Andrew Kevin Walker (who also penned Se7en (1995) and did uncredited scripting for The Game (1997) and Fight Club (1999)), The Killer begins with one of Fincher’s career-best opening sequences, lasting nearly 20 minutes. The film opens with a hitman (played by Michael Fassbender) hiding in an empty WeWork space building and staking out a hotel room in Paris, where his next target, an anonymous billionaire, is supposed to arrive. While he waits for days, a laid-back style of narration (with at least 20 quotable sentences) allows us to get a peek inside his mind as he goes about his day doing daily routines like yoga, listening to The Smiths, eating at McDonald’s, watching people at the cafe below, etc. The narration covers a wide range of topics, including the distinction between cynicism and skepticism, the historical trend of a minority exploiting the majority and his advice to always be in that minority, how his job (of killing) will have little impact on the perpetual cycle of 1.8 deaths and 4.2 births that occurs every second, which feels like the near-justification of his actions, etc. He also elaborates on how his profession is mostly about dealing with the mundaneness that comes with it and how the real problem arises in the days, hours, and minutes before and after the assignment. The Killer admits that he’s no genius but emphasizes that he lacks a moral compass, doesn’t believe in god or country, and, most importantly, doesn’t give a f**k about anything, which sets him ‘apart’ and allows him to be effective at his job. He has laid a few ground rules for himself that he considers essential to being precise and successful, such as “stick to the plan.” “Trust no one.” “Never yield an advantage.” “Fight only the battle you’re paid to fight.” “Forbid empathy.” “Anticipate and don’t improvise.” “Always ask what’s in it for me.” Anyway, when the killer’s victim finally arrives, he takes aim and fires, and despite meticulous preparations, he narrowly misses his target, marking a rare failure for him. The entire sequence is masterfully written, directed, performed, and edited (especially the time lapses), and it smoothly eases us into the character’s psyche.
After the mission’s failure, he is acutely aware of its repercussions, so he rushes back to his hideout place in the Dominican Republic, where he learns that his worst nightmare has come true. His employer had sent assassins to his house to tie loose ends, resulting in his girlfriend being seriously injured and fighting for her life. As a result, The Killer goes on a killing spree against people who have wronged him, forcing him to break his own set of rules that have sustained him in this profession.
As the killer finds out that his life is in danger, rather than taking the safer route of fleeing with the large sums of money he had stashed away, he chooses to go after his enemies. The intriguing element is that he is not primarily motivated by vengeance for his lover (whom he never mentions even once throughout his narration) in his pursuit of them but rather by a desire to test the limits of his professional competence. He goes on a murderous rampage to ensure that he is still precise and efficient in his area of expertise. This film reminded me of Michaelangelo Antonioni’s 1966 masterpiece, Blow-Up, in which a photographer who takes pride in his work begins to doubt his technical prowess after an incident that throws him into a downward spiral of insanity. Although The Killer doesn’t go that far, especially in the psychological aspect of the character, it does contain a few similarities.
When the killer begins his journey, Fincher fixates us on the process more than the outcome, making the film even more compelling. We see him traveling to different places under different names, using fake passports, and learn that he has acquired storage units in many cities across the country where he has stacked money, guns, and ammunition. Other scenes include him disguising himself as a waste collector to gain entry to his employer’s building, neutralizing a dog to enter one of the assassins’ homes in Florida, and breaking into an expensive penthouse with a modern security system using cheap Amazon products to prove a point that he still has the skills. It enables us to invest in his journey to track down his enemies, which is way more interesting than the killing scenes. However, the film does have a fight scene between him and another assassin that is easily among the year’s finest one-on-one combat sequences. The brutality and intensity of the action, which includes glass tables shattering, furniture breaking, heads bashing into the TV, and punches denting the wall, is perfectly complemented by the energetic and fluid camerawork.
Above all, The Killer is about perfectionism and obsession with precision, which the main character believes to be an integral part of his personality, and the film forces him to question his identity, turning his world upside down. These character traits have many parallels with those of David Fincher, who is also known as a perfectionist and someone who obsesses over minute details of filmmaking, making it his most personal film to date. Michael Fassbender is exceptional as the anonymous hitman who channels his inner Alain Delon from Le Samourai (1967) and comes off as equally calm and composed, be it his mannerisms, attire, or the cold, calculating way he kills his victims. He is a treat to watch and carries the entire film on his shoulders.
The Killer is available on Netflix
The Killer movie links: IMDB, Letterboxd
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