The Killer (2023)

Since seeing David Fincher's latest, I can't stop referring to it as The Driver. Although the reason for this is that I accidentally did it once and now my brain automatically alludes to the 1978 thriller, it's actually a more pertinent a slip of the tongue than you might think. There are many parallels between Walter Hill's getaway flick and The Killer, and therefore by association, Nicolas Winding Refn's Drive (2011), all starring meticulous criminals in the central roles. The Killer opens with Michael Fassbender's titular character on a job in Paris, and in a lengthy voice over he explains his punctilious planning and execution of an assassination. That's right, if you haven't already guessed, Fassbender is a Hitman. Unsurprisingly, something goes awry during the Paris job and the Killer is on the run, in a sequence that brings to mind the latter Mission: Impossible films and Paul Greengrass' three Bourne vehicles. Thankfully, The Killer is Fincher back on top form after 2020's black and white dud, Mank. The heart of that film was very much in the right place and was something of a passion project for Fincher; but Gary Oldman's brilliant performance as Mankiewicz (and the films' excellent score) aside, its huge promise failed to materialise on screen. That score is relevant here; Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross once more provide the sounds for Fincher, reaping the backdrop of a killer thriller to weave a purposeful and pulsating accompaniment that takes Fassbender from Paris to the Dominican Republic (where he owns a remote luxurious mansion for downtime), then on to New Orleans, Florida, New York and Chicago. These locations make up the films' sections. Split into six parts, The Killer uses its environments as elements in a jigsaw that make no attempt to shock or surprise, but successfully sucks you in to its ruthless, hugely slick, and entertaining world. It's a while since we've seen Fassbender on screen, and his performance here is nothing less than you'd expect from one of the finest actors working today. He pulls components from his character in Steve McQueen's sex addiction drama Shame (2011), notably the repetitive nature of the characters; both in Shame and The Killer he plays someone who is unemotional, unattached, and has no grasp of a normal everyday life. In both films also, he has a woman of importance that affects the arc of his persona and the story; in Fincher's film it's Sophie Charlotte's Magdala who plays Fassbender's girlfriend, beaten and left for dead as a result of the Killer's initial botched assassination job. There's nothing particularly groundbreaking here, we've seen the Hitman sub-genre many times before and it's a tricky job to make it truly original. Films like In Bruges (2008) or Richard Shepard's underrated black comedy The Matador (2005) have successfully tweaked the formula, but Fincher isn't interested in doing so here. What he does produce though, is something hugely entertaining and brilliantly acted (Tilda Swinton turns up for a short cameo and nearly steals the film) and from a personal point of view, introducing a Hitman who kills people whilst listening to The Smiths is something that's going to hold my attention. Despite not wandering to far from the tree in terms of a formulaic Hitman thriller, Fincher provides us with something so pleasurable and well executed, any foibles you might have with the film can happily wait until at least a second or third viewing. It's wonderful to see Fincher firing on all cylinders again, and even more thrilling to see Fassbender back on our screens. 8.3/10