“The Killer” is bad… Unless??
David Fincher is no stranger to meta commentary in his films. Not breaking the fourth wall exactly, but lightly tapping against the glass and whispering "You're all fucking stupid". As his filmography has progressed this commentary has become more based on the language of film, and in The Killer it becomes almost entirely self referential. We have a strong idea of what a David Fincher film is, but we only look towards the most reductive elements. So, what happens when a witty, sarcastic director makes the film "audiences want" in a genre that he's well and truly outgrown? Well, you might get something like this.
The Killer is a film that won't fully connect with a lot of people. It's wildly stylish as per usual, and there's not a single technical flaw. But despite having all of Fincher's typical frills dialled to 11, you realise that the things that genuinely make his films tick are missing. There's something kinda hollow. The film is very strictly subjective, as we hear the music exactly how our protagonist hears it, and we never latch onto anyone else for more than a few short moments before they leave the film. The man we're left with is the classic man with no name. He's Alain Delon in Le Samouraï, and Ryan O'Neal in The Driver. Nothing remotely new, except Fassbender's character uses the phrase "normies" and takes jabs at people who use creatine and discuss cryptocurrency. Is this Fincher, or is this you? Either way, that person is being made fun of.
Something that this movie shares with fight club is that it's style means that it brings in the exact audience that it's making fun of, and keeps its satire subtle enough so often they don't realise they're being mocked. It's like if Michael Haneke ate a bit of the cake he was having. Fight Club holds its cards close to the chest, but The Killer buries them in its crotch to the point where the movie does almost nothing to support the subtext. Most of it comes from understanding Fincher's filmography, the mythos surrounding him, and the sub genre's he's referencing. And what results is a movie that is still very entertaining on a surface level, but also a movie I found genuinely hilarious. The absolutely egregious product placement, the long checklist of Fincher hallmarks, and the hypocrisy of our protagonist who holds values that he almost never carries out. And my absolute favourite part, the music.
The soundtrack of this movie had me oscillating between bursting out in laughter and then pumping my fist in the air like the very frat boys that Fincher makes fun of. The Smith's fit in this weird pocket where it's jovial enough to be a stark contrast to the rest of the movie, yet it has enough depravity that you understand why it belongs there. There were several moments that I loved for different reasons, but the standout is towards the beginning of the film in a moment where a more intense Smith's song that I won't name is played as a calming meditation to keep Fassbender's heart rate down. Even though this is basically a parody, moments like that and another moment with a burger still give some very interesting characterisation.
I genuinely don't know what comes next for Fincher. This movie seems to indicate that Fincher feels he swung a little too far with Mank, but I can't see him going back to more movies about killers after slam dunking this one. But hopefully we get to see more of this subtle, reflective, and mature Fincher.
