IR Film Review: THE KILLER [Netflix]

The approach to a thriller depends on perspective. The consequence of action usually depends on the efficiency of concept and the relationship of the protagonist to the audience. In David Fincher's "The Killer" written by Se7en's Andrew Kevin Walker, it takes both perspectives. The film is tight, efficient and very aware of itself but it also seems very cut and dry in many ways. It is great to see a character piece of this sort and Michael Fassbender is slick and visceral in this role but we never really get truly behind why he is but we know who he is. The trevails bounce him all of the place and the film moves without getting bogged down in unnecessary perspectives. The feel of the film though is Fincher of old like "Se7en" and "The Game" with the vivid music video lighting and shadows. In many ways at this point in his career, it reminded this reviewer of Brian DePalma's "Femme Fatale" but with a little more under the hood. The motivation is singular but what makes it work is the humor.

Walker (like Esterhas from his generation) knows the importance of a subtle jab and a pop culture reference without making it an easter egg. The interesting thing as always with a picture like this is the detail. Fassbender's character is a psychopath and a butcher so there can be no empathy. Walker does place one roadblock in the context which upends it slightly and another deflection by the impeccably directed Tilda Swinton gives the movie its pulse. Like "Kill Bill" in a way, there is a list that must be completed which keys into the linear structure. The overarching voiceover (like "Dexter") can be a bit too much but the humor offsets that. That is the way of the novel but most people speak that voiceover is lazy filmmaking and in many cases this is true. It is a little less here but still glaring at times.

It comes from the point that Fassbender doesn't talk much as the character. It is about observation and action. This film doesn't have big set pieces but it does have location and style. One fight scene ranks up there with the best of the them because of its physicality and brutality. As the film moves forward to the end, what throws it off just a tad, versus the Fincher and Walker of old is, in a way, ironically enough, its hopefulness in the bleakness but that could be a result of many different things. It all comes down to the ideal of if this is the exact film Fincher wanted to make. Netflix for many filmmakers opens up that context but it is hard to know which way it sometimes turns. That said, "The Killer"is a tight efficient work by Fincher...not his best or least but definitely "him". A-

By Tim Wassberg