In a spacious dark room sits a man dedicated to his mission. In the carousel of carefully laid out routine tasks, he calmly persists for days until his target appears and he aims his rifle at him. David Fincher made a film for Netflix called simply The Killer. And he once again confirms that there is no material that he cannot direct with absolute precision.
The 61-year-old American has been interested in various types of killers since the beginning of his career. In dramas Seven or Zodiac, but more often delved into the minds of detectives who have to deal with murderers. This time he made a story in which we watch a guy killing people for money all the time. Nothing more, nothing less. Still, it is a fascinating spectacle.
One of the reasons is Michael Fassbender in the title role of the nameless hitman. The methodical, stoically calm man continues the characters of “Zen” killers, as we already know from Alain Delon in the excellent crime Samurai from 1967 directed by Jean-Pierre Melville. Nevertheless, Fincher knows that he is processing a slightly more defective material.
The novelty was created by adapting a French comic, which is revealed from the beginning at least by the introductions regarding the code and habits of a professional who does not shy away from killing for money. There are sentences like “People often confuse skepticism with cynicism”. The hero relies on the creed “Stick to the plan, no feelings, don’t improvise” in his mission. And it is thanks to the cold, observational tone with which Fincher portrays him that the film manages to confuse the audience so amusingly.
Is the director faking depth? Or is there something to those slightly hackneyed stories? Or do we perceive a certain even satirical edge here, which would not be unexpected from an author who likes to make films about various ills of the social order? It probably applies a little bit all at once.
The plot is simple. The hero fails to hit the target after a long preparation. After that, he elegantly flees from justice on a scooter into the anonymity of the night streets of Paris, but after returning home to the Dominican Republic, he discovers that the failure of an order for an influential client has been severely punished. His girlfriend was the victim of the attack. She barely survived and is in the hospital.
Tilda Swinton played an expert whom the hero visits in a restaurant. | Photo: Netflix
A nameless killer suddenly has to apply his set of rules to a task that is deeply personal. If they say revenge tastes best cold, David Fincher serves it straight from the freezer.
In a slow-paced procedural thriller, we watch a man with a great eye for detail perform various activities that don’t seem harsh or interesting at all. He mostly visits cleverly chosen hiding places of what he needs for his plans, or presents documents in different names at the airport counters.
One of the greatest charms stems from the fact that the life of a hitman, moreover, currently driven by a desire for revenge, in this version resembles the routine of a security guard in a parking lot or a hotel employee on the night shift. And sometimes, in this precise, captivatingly filmed series of trips to New Orleans, New York, or Chicago, the routine of a slightly more brutal character enters.
The protagonist doesn’t mess with his superiors, he doesn’t let himself be manipulated, he sticks to his rules. Which does not rule out that sometimes there will be complete chaos and enormously physical action carnage, during which bodies and bones in them crack.
On the one hand, the film seems too custom. And it could be done by calling it “pure work”. But The Killer is also one of the clearest proofs of why the three-time Oscar-nominated creator is one of the greatest contemporary directors.
The movie Killer is on Netflix with Czech dubbing and subtitles. | Video: Netflix
Despite the pace, the Killer continues to thrill. Mainly because we have no idea where he is going, although the plot is simple and predictable. But not a hero anymore.
In many other films, even the constant comments made by the off-screen protagonist could seem ridiculous, because they are not as smart as they are trying to tell us.
Fincher, however, makes us wonder how much Fassbender’s character believes such stories and how ridiculous they are on purpose.
It has long been part of the director’s signature that he makes seemingly very simple films that nevertheless resist a clear grasp. The Killer – straddled between six-figure comics and the profound genre shapes of Jean-Pierre Melville – is further confirmation of how well this method works.
Even when a scene emerges from a routine and precise operation with the potential to shine spectacularly, such as meeting Tilda Swinton in the role of the hero’s ex-colleague in a luxury restaurant, Fincher does not let us decide what feelings we have for the new character. He steals the situation for himself. Should we feel sorry for her? Or is it, on the contrary, the antithesis of many similar scenes in films about bloody revenge?
Compared to many of them, the Killer stands out for what others might criticize. It does not offer a harsh protagonist with a lot of obscene words, but also its opposite – no human, ordinary hero who, following the example of Liam Neeson with puppy eyes, would liquidate entire gangs and with them half of the cities where the story takes place.
Fincher’s killer is more of a springboard for many clichés that tend to be seen in this genre. It’s fun to notice the glares and piggies they throw at us along the way.
