The Killer (2023)- BFI London Film Festival 2023

Review

118min

Genre:       Action, Crime, Mystery, Thriller

Director:     David Fincher

Cast:         Michael Fassbender, Tilda Swinton, Charles Parnell…and more

Writers:     Andrew Kevin Walker, Alexis Nolent, Luc Jacamon

-Synopsis-

A skilled and meticulous assassin who finally fails to stick to the plan is forced into hiding when an assignment goes wrong, only to be drawn into a globe-trotting manhunt and become a target as his carefully-cultivated psyche begins to slip when he undertakes a fateful personal mission, in this neo-noir action crime/thriller graphic novel adaptation from the director of ‘Se7en’ and ‘Gone Girl’.

Having long developed a penchant for exploring the dark recesses of flawed and complex characters struggling with the metaphorical weight of a perverse world on their backs, and a fascination for serial killers and what makes them tick, most recently on the small screen with ‘Mindhunter’, David Fincher now turns his smooth and brooding cinematic eye to murderers of the meticulous and professional variety. Reuniting with his ‘Se7en’ screenwriter Andrew Kevin Walker after nearly thirty years to complete an ambition many years in the making—adapting the Matz & Jacamon French comic book series ‘Le Tueur’—to give us a sleek lethal study of obsession and professionalism whilst delivering a few bleak nihilistic philosophical life lessons on our troubled world.

Michael Fassbender stars as the titular but unnamed mysterious killer himself, a stoic and unflappable, methodical and ritualistic assassin with the mantras and fatalistic philosophy to match, whose procedures and plans are dumped out of the window when a Parisian hit for a powerful shadowy client doesn’t go to plan, sending him nervously underground only to find his private life compromised and a target slapped on his back. And so ensues a statewide mission tracking down figures from the contract killing underworld like ‘The Lawyer’ (Charles Parnell), ‘The Expert’ (Tilda Swinton) and ‘The Brute’ (Sala Baker), and figuring out who he needs to dispatch on the path to securing the only thing he holds dear.

Unsurprisingly from a David Fincher picture, the style of the film—if not quite its protagonist with his touristy but functional urban camouflage aesthetic—is modern glossy and carefully considered. Featuring the meticulous shot compositions and fluid sophisticated camera movements that have become the trademark of a perfectionist filmmaker, and the slick digital cinematography he seems so devoted to, this time from new regular collaborator Erik Messerschmidt (Mindhunter, Mank), along with an inordinate amount of takes to get it right no doubt. No more so than in the moments of tense buildup and the sporadic payoffs which are just about significant enough to take ‘The Killer’ tentatively into action film territory, thanks to one gripping chase and an epic beachhouse battle, but more than enough to earn its thriller stripes.

Indeed there are other key Fincher signature style and narrative elements at the heart of ‘The Killer’, including another moody soundscape from regular collaborators Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross who deliver a familiarly pulsating and occasionally jarring synth score to help set the tone. There are also the film’s underlying neo-noir vibes, and most importantly the narration/inner monologue from the protagonist throughout, providing functional and philosophical running commentary on what you see and the subtext beneath and so important to the overall narrative that it makes Michael Fassbender not only the star here, but his own main supporting actor too.

Despite some brief but welcome supporting turns by a small selection of stars which vividly bring to life the odd scenes and sequences of dialogue and action, ‘The Killer’ is largely a one man show, and a procedural one at that. Fassbender truly brings all his acting nous and undeniable charisma to carry the picture with flair, delivering a stoic and restrained yet intense and hyper-focused performance befitting his character, as the Irish star’s simmering screen magnetism gives birth to an obsessively precise and composed customer, with a tense and unravelling underbelly which is curiously soothed by the music of ‘The Smiths’—which Fincher uses almost ad nauseam—and whom is deadly serious about his work and its consequences.

‘The Killer’ may prove an unconventional vehicle for Fincher’s often visited nihilistic and pessimistic philosophical outlook on humanity, and his view of a world which has misplaced its moral compass or perhaps never really had one, and given the current state of that world his perspective seems closer to a sober and realistic one than we might like to admit, but it doesn’t quite have the boldness or impact of his darker past efforts. But of course the film is much more than that, or at least tries to be, an action/thriller with sparse action and limited thrills, but plenty of tension and meticulous build-up to reflect its protagonist. And it’s a dark character drama with a mystery element, which in the end lacks some of the narrative intricacy, daring and inventiveness which has come to define his career, and the result is a genre-straddling film which sits a tad innocuously between them.

Ultimately ‘The Killer’ tries to be too many things to too many people without truly excelling at any of them, and it’s not unfair to say that it’s probably one of David Fincher’s least emotionally resonant or psychologically impactful efforts in recent memory, and one of the less memorable and entertaining ones too, and that includes his more recent work on the small screen. Yet this is still a master filmmaker at work and a Fincher far from form is still as good as most at their best, as he manages to plaster his perfectionism on screen and on a narrative revolving a character which may be a dark reflection of himself, delivering a solid and well-executed crime/spy/assassin thriller with more than enough substance to keep you gripped and fully invested, if not quite marked.

The Bottom Line…

Powered by the simmering screen magnetism of its committed and hugely charismatic star, ‘The Killer’ proves a meticulous and admirably atmospheric crime thriller with the style credentials to match and a nihilistic heart beating beneath. And while it may not leave a lasting mark or trouble the pantheon of brooding David Fincher masterpieces, the bold filmmaker’s latest precise cinematic plunge into the dark parts of the human condition is still an expertly executed and gripping big (and small) screen ride from start to finish.

‘The Killer’ is out in selected cinemas on the 27th of October, and streams on Netflix from the 10th of November.

Similar films you may like (Home Video)

The Accountant (2016)

Ben Affleck stars as a mysterious and gifted but obsessive and neurologically challenged forensic accountant, who “creatively” manages the books for criminal organizations… and moonlights as an assassin, but his latest job puts him on a collision course with dangerous forces and a troubled past in this action/thriller from the director of ‘Warrior’.

Directed by Gavin O’Connor and starring Ben Affleck, Anna Kendrick and J.K. Simmons among others.

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