“The Killer” Review
Michael Fassbender stars as the morally ambiguous unnamed assassin in “The Killer”, the latest film from director David Fincher now streaming on Netflix as an original film.
After years away from making movies to focus on television series like “House of Cards” and “Mindhunter”, David Fincher’s return to cinema with 2020’s “Mank” was a revelation. However, while “Mank’s” take on 1930s Hollywood was remarkable, “The Killer” is a true return to form with a thrilling story that rivals Fincher’s previous white-knuckled films like “Seven” and “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”.
After a high-profile hit goes wrong, the unnamed titular assassin (Michael Fassbender) goes on a worldwide spree of vengeance when his personal life is affected. With each target presenting a new series of challenges, this Killer becomes entangled in an internal struggle of whether or not this occupation is right for him.
Watching “The Killer”, I came to a stunning realization. This film is the antithesis of “John Wick” which I don’t mean as an insult to either film. “John Wick” is a true achievement in action cinema with incredible stunt work and a high-octane feel that makes the whole thing just breeze by. “The Killer” is much more of a slow-burn. Every person that the protagonist kills isn’t some random thug, they’re carefully selected as part of his plan of retribution. While the body count is much smaller, it’s David Fincher’s thrilling direction and the astounding editing by Kirk Baxter (the editor of every Fincher film since “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”) that kept me glued to the screen, unable to look away.
Michael Fassbender is remarkable as this character and, as someone who is mainly silent throughout the film, he conveys so much meaning with how he conducts himself. Everything about his life is efficient and built upon an ideal of perfection as we learn from his dialogue, most of which is voice-over narration. With the basis of the film being that his system of flawless killing has been shattered, this is where things get interesting as he cleans house and tries to restore order. Along with having rules for how to best take out a target, he also has a code of ethics on how to avoid attachment or identification with the victims of his violence and seeing him bend that structure was fascinating. Over the course of the film, it becomes more apparent that he’s not trying to convince the audience whether or not he can handle this life, he’s trying to convince himself.
With writer Andrew Kevin Walker reuniting with Fincher nearly 30 years after they made “Seven”, you really feel just how right these two are for each other. The story is structured brilliantly with each chapter (an element left over from the 1998 French comic book that the film is based on) further peeling back the mystery of who this killer is and how many people were involved with trying to take him out. It’s also challenging to the audience since there’s really no good people in this story. Obviously the killer and his targets (played by an ensemble of greats like Kerry O’Malley, Charles Parnell and Tilda Swinton) are all morally questionable at best but even the least objectionable characters are still aware of what the killer does so you could argue that they’re complicit in his misdeeds.
Nevertheless, Fincher, Walker and Fassbender put you in this assassin’s point-of-view throughout the whole film and it surprisingly gets you on his side. When he sets up a method to kill someone, you find yourself hoping that he succeeds in taking a life. I don’t know what that really says about me but I know that it makes for some incredible suspense.
Further adding to the immersion into this man’s perspective are some phenomenal sound editing which allows us to hear just what the protagonist is hearing. Plus, it gave us an incredible selection of music with songs by The Smiths being frequently used alongside a new score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross.
David Fincher is a filmmaker that makes any kind of genre riveting. He knows how to pace a film so finely that there’s never a dull beat whether it’s in exceptional thrillers like “Seven” or business dramas like “The Social Network”. If you’re looking for a tight two hours that will keep you away from your phone and focus on the kind of story that you feel is up to a man of Fincher’s talents, “The Killer” is most definitely worth your time.
