Rating: 3.5/5
Spoiler- & Contentwarnung:
Violence, murder, abuse
David Finchers bester Film:
“The Killer“
A (dry) analysis.
Film doesn’t need anything more than to be well directed. No likeable characters, no profound message, no internal logic. Not even a coherent plot is necessary – because even in films in which hardly anything happens narratively, enough happens. Even when they’re…boring.
Or better: stage boredom. A subtle difference, but one that shows that every element of a work of art can also be part of its expression. Monotony, repetition, their effects on the viewers and the characters: films like “A Ghost Story” or David Finchers “The Killer” look for their meaning precisely in this. In this way they reflect the situation of their protagonists.
The waiting. Holding out until something happens. Monochrome shots, which deliberately lack the visual friction points of color contrasts, repeated shots that visually capture narrative monotony, and motifs whose composition already has monotony. A spiral staircase, static camera shots and the same perspectives over and over again. Patience is what it takes. Needs Michael Fassbender in “The Killer“.
His voiceover does not follow a narrative function, it is more of a stream of thoughts. Various thoughts that fall silent when you concentrate on music and are commented on visually. One push-up, one thought. Repetition as a motif, also for the figure. Routine. In “The Killer“The film is an audiovisual study of subjective perception. Shots that represent Fassbender’s perspective also show what he hears. The soundtrack is more atmospheric clinking than melody, the sounds of the settings serve as actual auditory background music.
David Fincher tells the rudimentary story of a cold-blooded contract killer primarily visually. He places the essence of his character in the subtext – if their mission goes wrong, the film escapes its own boredom. The coloring becomes more contrasting, the surroundings change abruptly, and if there is a duel, the shots become dynamic and the cuts become faster. A rough, physical choreography in which the characters wildly beat each other up, robbing the action of any aesthetics. Broken by vivid, dry comedy, whose narrative relevance protects it from becoming an end in itself. And which, like the various, sudden kills, only further deprives the film of its sameness from the beginning.
Ultimately, it’s about loss of control. No matter how often Michael Fassbender repeats his motto, he is less and less able to stick to it as the film progresses. “Stick to your plan” – the plan is gone as soon as he misses.”Anticipate, dont improvise” – at the latest in a man-to-man fight he is forced to improvise. “Trust no one” – instead of revenge, he chooses trust in the finale. “Never yield an advantage” – he gives up his advantage when he seeks out his next victim in the middle of the public.”Fight only the battle youre paid to fight” – the entire plot of the film relies on him fighting for personal reasons.”Forbid empathy” – and yet he shows empathy when he doesn’t let the corpse of one of his victims disappear at his request. He can’t even finish the last repetition of his mantra.
Little by little, the film exposes its protagonist as fallible, as helpless, as human. If the character initially considers himself to be one of the few among the many, all he has to do in the final scene is to revise this classification. Because his girlfriend has to pay for his failure, because his promises to himself are reflected in his death Tilda Swinton as lies because he recognizes himself in his antagonists. The cold in the drama of Michael Fassbender is a facade, his otherwise well-planned character is not as distanced from the murders as he believes. He hardly shows it, but he too is looking for the thrill, the risk. Because even those who represent a nihilistic view of society and humanity are still part of it, are still human.
7.5 out of 10 ducks.
The Killer Review
