The Killer
The Killer, USA 2023. Directed and story by David Fincher, written by Andrew Kevin Walker. Based on the comic Le Tueur by Alexis « Matz » Nolent & Luc Jacamon.
Cinema Theater, Row 3, Seat 11+12. Original version with German subtitles.
(This post originally appeared, in slightly different form and without the amendment, at my Instagram account betweendrafts.)
Extremely stylish, suspenseful, and Fincher-ish. Also, acerbically funny at times in good ways. Messerschmidt’s cinematography is outstanding, and the V-RAPTOR he used really delivers and gives the movie a very stylish ’90s gloss.
As for the soundtrack, it was heavy on The Smiths songs, a legacy slightly tainted by Morrissey ever since he leaned into cultivating his racism, but okay. But then there was also Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’s industrial score, which was brilliant.
On a side note, I added Archaia’s English-language edition of Matz and Jacamon’s La Tueur comic series to my collection ages ago, but then refrained from reading it because of reports that Fincher was going to direct an adaptation. The first time this was reported was in *checks notes* 2007. Yeah, it took him.
Amendment
Just found the most terrific review so far: “David Fincher’s New Movie The Killer Is Sigma Cinema” by Max Read. Enjoy!
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