The Killer Inside Me. 108 minutes. Rated MA15+. Directed by Michael Winterbottom. Screenplay by John Curran. Based on the novel by Jim Thompson.
If ever there was a film to reignite the debate about sex and violence on film – and particularly violence against women with which this film is pornographically afflicted – then Winterbottom’s nasty, nihilistic, exploitative, dead-end of a movie is it.
It has pretensions to being a stylish, psychological thriller in the classic film noir tradition of the 1940s and ‘50s, where gangsters, thugs, detectives and femme fatales ruled the silver screen in monochromatic splendour and intrigue. The grand noir tradition was almost always powered by a masterful manipulation of light, sound, suspense and suggestion. Winterbottom, instead, has opted for splice and dice – and the result is often repulsive.
Based on Thompson’s 1952 pulp fiction novel about a small town Deputy Sheriff/serial killer ‘Lou Ford’ (a chilling performance from Casey Affleck), Curran’s screenplay is a faithful adaptation of Thompson’s typically bleak novel in which there isn’t a redeeming feature to be found in anyone, anywhere. Winterbottom has been reportedly defending his film against the outrage from people who have been deeply affected by the gruelling, long sequences of violence by saying that all he did was film the book. Ironically, if animals were treated in a film the way Jessica Alba’s big-hearted prostitute ‘Joyce’ is, the filmmakers would probably be facing criminal charges.
As a reviewer, one is always challenged to find the context – the reason and purpose in the films we go to see. Marcel Zyskind’s gorgeous cinematography is stunning and Mark Tildesley’s (28 Weeks Later, Sunshine, The Constant Gardener) production design is incredibly evocative of ‘small-town USA’ in the 1950s (the cars are fantastic!). Mags Arnold’s skilful editing ensures the film’s languid pace matches the increasingly disturbing plot developments to perfection.
But like the time I saw a dog hit by a car, this film is something I wish I had never seen. It will haunt me for a very long time, and entirely for all the wrong reasons.
This review was commissioned by the Geraldton Newspaper Group.
No comments:
Post a Comment