‘THE KILLER’ Review: David Fincher’s Portrait of an Assassin Hits Its Target

Courtney Howard // Film Critic

THE KILLER

Rated R, 1 hour and 58 minutes

Directed by: David Fincher

Starring: Michael Fassbender, Charles Parnell, Tilda Swinton, Kerry O’Malley, Sophie Charlotte, Sala Baker, Arliss Howard

Director David Fincher and screenwriter Andrew Kevin Walker once again deliver the unexpected with THE KILLER. Their collaborative efforts on SEVEN took cinematic serial killers to chilling, unsettling heights. Now, the dynamic duo’s take on Alexis Nolent and Luc Jacamon’s graphic novel centered on a killer-for-hire functions not only as a taut, dark comedy-laced crime thriller, but also as a meta commentary on the art of filmmaking itself. Courtesy of a precisely calibrated tonal scale and a methodically sharp lead performance, this steely, succinct picture snaps quickly into place, holding our attention and curiosity throughout its brisk runtime.

The Killer (Michael Fassbender) treats his criminal routine as sacrosanct. He uses aliases adopted from classic sitcom characters, eats McDonalds for breakfast, and in the wee hours of the night, soothes himself with inner monologues and mantras. His look is an adoptive one – that of a German tourist. His form is sleight and balletic. His presence is inconspicuous and undetectable, despite being handsomely chiseled. His artistry echoes the melancholic new wave sounds of The Smiths, who are played regularly on his iPod mini. And he’s the best in the field. That is until he slips.

On a stakeout to take out a businessman in a posh Parisian apartment, our protagonist, who’s been residing in an abandoned WeWork (a sly commentary on the hollow capitalistic divide that perhaps drove him to this position), fails to account for a crucial detail and misses his millionaire mark. His career spirals into chaos in the aftermath with all its usual safeguards compromised, leaving his home and girlfriend Magdala (Sophie Charlotte) vulnerable to attack. In order to secure his future, find who wants him dead and seek revenge, The Killer goes on a calamitous collision course with folks like his mentor, The Lawyer (Charles Parnell) and secretary Dolores (Kerry O’Malley), as well as shifty figures The Brute (Sala Baker) and The Expert (Tilda Swinton).

Fincher and Walker have crafted their most nihilistic, punk-rock film yet, with sentiments surrounding closure, vengeance and obsolescence. The clear-eyed slogans upon which The Killer has become so heavily reliant prove hollow as he struggles for survival in this underworld. His quest to clear up the job’s loose ends morphs into an exercise in futility by the climax, which doesn’t end on a predictable note, but rather a reflective, incisive and enlightened one, turning the tables on the genre’s previous offerings. The ending where he inevitably faces off against the person who initially hired him, The Client (Arliss Howard), might prove divisive for some, but there’s a tangible sense of engagement when witnessing this man’s psychological journey towards clarity and freedom. The filmmakers also work in a beguiling juxtaposition, using a motif of ascension just as the character is emotionally descending into foreign territory.

The way Fincher and his frequent collaborators color our antihero’s world is evocatively immersive. Cinematographer Erik Messerschmidt gives the ritualistic proceedings a stealthy, crisp atmospheric candor. Editor Kirk Baxter’s cuts provide a snappy pace and energy. The soundscape takes us on a sensational sensory journey, as composers Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’ pulsating score, sound designer Ren Klyce’s masterful subtleties and soundtrack selections from The Smiths draw an aural portrait of the calculating character’s psyche. The Killer’s botched hit is where everyone’s work sings in glorious chorus, tightening the synthy strings acting as a noose around the hitman’s neck.

Fassbender makes a meal out of his material, achieving a finely tuned pitch and demonstrating an assured bravura. His hard stares and laconic manner connote multitudes of information, creating a fascinating dichotomy of a skilled sociopath with a heart of gold. He grasps the escalating drama alongside the dark levity, especially evidenced in the sequence where he’s tasked to sedate a pit bull, break into an unfamiliar home and fight a guy twice his size.

THE KILLER joins other films of its ilk as one of the best and brightest. But in the allegorical context, Fincher makes this a revelatory ode to filmic creation. We sense his own methodical process bleeding through the frame, his own battles waged and his own steadying platitudes keeping him focused. And though it may play things a little too fast and loose in the third act, on the whole, it’s certainly an audacious offering.

Grade: 4.5 out of 5

THE KILLER opens in select theaters on October 27 and begins streaming exclusively on Netflix on November 10.