Panic

Michael Fassbender emerges from his acting retirement, having mostly done race car driving since The Snowman and Dark Phoenix (wow, no wonder he dipped!), as a meticulous Smiths-loving hitman at the center of David Fincher’s latest film. The Killer follows the titular killer as his mechanical, passionless, life starts to fray, landing him in hot water with his boss and all his secrets at stake. The hitman must divert from his standard plan to track down those who threaten him, using all his skills along the way.

Unfortunately, watching this hitman be very good at his job (mostly) does not make for the most compelling film. While it could be argued The Killer is really about Fincher looking at his own process and dealing with studio interference, everything stays at a static remove. While I often push back on labeling Fincher as a “cold” filmmaker, it’s hard to fight those allegations here. Much of the humor comes from the lizardlike Fassbinder encountering human emotions, stamping down his own empathy but doing some kindnesses in his way. Mercy killing is a kindness, right?

I came away from The Killer a bit bummed out. Something about it felt shockingly cheap and shoddy from the man who made Zodiac. It didn’t feel anonymous, but something just felt off. While Tilda Swinton is fun as always in her small role, the other actors don’t really pop except for their skulls. Does that scan? Fassbender kills them, is what I mean. There’s one brutal and entertaining fistfight, but it takes place solely in a dark house. Much of the film is shrouded in darkness, which will inevitably look muddy on a Netflix stream. If this film got a proper theatrical release, it could have a fighting chance. As it is, it may only be enjoyed by Fincher completists before disappearing into the digital muck.

The Killer
2023
Dir. David Fincher
118 min

Opens Friday, 10/27 @ Coolidge Corner Theatre and Kendall Square Cinema. Streaming on Netflix 11/10