‘Kill List’ left me with a minor brain bleed.
I won’t pretend that I know what genre this thing belongs in. It’s partly a highly improvisational study of the effects of joblessness and stress on families and friends. It’s also an incredibly graphic, brutal action movie about hit men. Most distressingly, it’s a British supernatural thriller from the 70s. If you’re into the genre, you’ll quickly suss out which ones I mean.
For the most part it’s smoothly paced and carefully observed. The cast gets screenplay credit, and their largely improvised conversations feel natural and genuine, anchoring what is otherwise a very over-the-top film. The performances are solid all the way around, and without their easy rapport the film would fail utterly.
Films that rely on swerves like this one are hard to recap, so I won’t. Much.
Our protagonist is ex-military. He has apparently transitioned into murder-for-hire, but after a botched job he’s lost the taste for his new profession. 8 months go by, he takes on no new work. His wife is losing patience, and his son is forced to listen to their escalating hostility. His partner comes with an offer of one last job, a job that will pay real money and banish the wolves from his door. He reluctantly accepts the work. From there, everything goes wrong. Things go wrong on a scale that the relatively restrained first act will not prepare you for. When the real twists start hitting in the third act, if you see them coming you’re a better viewer than me.
The final few twists are heavy, and not advised for people who cried at that Owen Wilson dog movie. Or people who get grossed out by naked old people or major organs on the wrong side of the skin. Or most people who have ‘sensibilities’ or ‘feelings’.
It’s a modest film, set in Yorkshire and it’s probably not going to be in theaters long. In Seattle it’s only playing at the SIFF Cinemas Uptown, but I recommend it for fans of dark, violent drama. Character development is a real luxury in movies with this kind of body count, and I’d like to see more smart horror in the world. It’s also available through a lot of pay-per-view channels like iTunes and Zune, and I think it’s a great leap forward that so many worthy movies are getting to meet up with an audience without the expenses of major theatrical release.
If you see it, and you understand what the last three or four minutes mean, let me know. I have no idea, and I’ve been thinking about it for a few days. In the end, that may be the strongest recommendation I can give.
