David Fincher's latest work "The killer" opens with "Chapter 1. Paris. The Target". Action junkies be warned (but they should know what to expect from auteur Fincher). The titled assassin (Michael Fassbender), after attempting to grab your attention with the words "Consider yourself lucky if our paths never cross", launches into a 20-minute monologue that alternates between a bland lecture in philosophy and a dull reciting of an assassin's handbook (the contents of the latter repeated over and over in the rest of the movie). All these are in The Killer's voiceovers with himself engaging in an assortment of idle pursuits while waiting for the target to appear in the building across the street. Our paths do cross, unlucky audience, and you will be bored to death! Finally, the target appears. Turning on music ("music is a focus tool"), our "anti-bond", with the audience completely sold on his persona of a cold-blood perfectionist, takes aim. Things then turn a bit farcical: he miss. "Farcical" because of the laugh-out-loud circumstances causing the miss. "This is new", comes his beautifully understated voiceover, completing your mirth.
The rest of the movie, 5 more chapters plus probably and the shortest epilogue ever, shows how he tries to clean up the mess. The places, the order of which I have scrambled to minimize spoilers, are New Orleans, Chicago, Dominican Republic, Florida and New York. The characters denoted in the chapter titles (similarly scrambled) are the client, the lawyer, the brute, the perfectionists and the hideout (this last one does not specifically name a character).
The Killer has been characterized by some critics as an "anti-Bond", a point well made. One is licensed to kill; the other is not, just paid. One is fascinatingly interesting; the other is anything but. The 5 encounters with the 5 other characters wind up mostly in a killing, some of which in the bloody tradition of "Se7en" and "Zodiac". With the absence of any plot to speak of (let alone one as convoluted as in "Se7en"), "The Killer" is best enjoyed as a showcase of Fincher's style, well complemented with cinematography and background music.
The only other name in the cast that claims the same height of acting caliber as Fassbender is Tilda Swinton. Expectedly, their encounter is the best among all. The "action" is all in the dialogue, and the dialogue is mostly Swinton, delightfully mesmerizing. Fassdender does contribute to the dialogue, after his own fashion: silence. Not the deadpan type, but chill-your-blood variation. Most watchable, tension-filled, like two deadly samurai wielding their swords, or the Alan Ladd and Jack Palance face off, poised to draw, in "Shane".
"The Killer" should appeal to loyal followers of Fincher, but less so to the mass audience.
The rest of the movie, 5 more chapters plus probably and the shortest epilogue ever, shows how he tries to clean up the mess. The places, the order of which I have scrambled to minimize spoilers, are New Orleans, Chicago, Dominican Republic, Florida and New York. The characters denoted in the chapter titles (similarly scrambled) are the client, the lawyer, the brute, the perfectionists and the hideout (this last one does not specifically name a character).
The Killer has been characterized by some critics as an "anti-Bond", a point well made. One is licensed to kill; the other is not, just paid. One is fascinatingly interesting; the other is anything but. The 5 encounters with the 5 other characters wind up mostly in a killing, some of which in the bloody tradition of "Se7en" and "Zodiac". With the absence of any plot to speak of (let alone one as convoluted as in "Se7en"), "The Killer" is best enjoyed as a showcase of Fincher's style, well complemented with cinematography and background music.
The only other name in the cast that claims the same height of acting caliber as Fassbender is Tilda Swinton. Expectedly, their encounter is the best among all. The "action" is all in the dialogue, and the dialogue is mostly Swinton, delightfully mesmerizing. Fassdender does contribute to the dialogue, after his own fashion: silence. Not the deadpan type, but chill-your-blood variation. Most watchable, tension-filled, like two deadly samurai wielding their swords, or the Alan Ladd and Jack Palance face off, poised to draw, in "Shane".
"The Killer" should appeal to loyal followers of Fincher, but less so to the mass audience.