A very slick, jarring and unforgiving film from Michael Winterbottom. The Killer Inside me is the story of a small town sheriff who one day begins to unleash the darkest side of his human nature - something you suspect has been brewing for a long time.
We've barely met our lead, Casey Affleck, before we see him thrown into the middle of a heated altercation with out-of-town hooker, Jessica Alba. As the tagline for the film says, 'nobody sees it coming'. Up to this point Affleck seems like a well-mannered, clean-cut officer of the law. Winterbottom wastes no time ensuring us this is not the case.
Kate Hudson plays the role of the legitimate girlfriend, unaware of Alba, and Elias Koteas also stars as a union boss out to protect his own interest when the bodies start piling up. There is also a welcome turn from Ned Beatty as the big shot who has a hand in most of the towns dirty dealings.
Whilst reminiscent of American Psycho, The Killer Inside Me is a much harder film to watch. Bale's version of the killer hiding in plain sight has a much more comedic tone to it -even the violence somehow draws a chuckle in it's over-the-top delivery - but whilst there are moments of humour here, the violence is far from comedic. It is sudden, vicious and shocking, leaving your eyes glued to the screen in breathless anticipation of what Affleck will do next.
It is this focus on the character, however compelling, that in a way will make some viewers lose track of the pacing and the plot of the story. At some point all of Affleck�(TM)s motives and plans becoming blurred into the background, as all you really want to see is what Affleck does next. You stop caring about to whom or why - you just want to see more.
There is something very voyeuristic about this film that forces the viewer to not only observe the killer inside our main character, but also the possibility that such raw brutality may also exist within themselves.
We've barely met our lead, Casey Affleck, before we see him thrown into the middle of a heated altercation with out-of-town hooker, Jessica Alba. As the tagline for the film says, 'nobody sees it coming'. Up to this point Affleck seems like a well-mannered, clean-cut officer of the law. Winterbottom wastes no time ensuring us this is not the case.
Kate Hudson plays the role of the legitimate girlfriend, unaware of Alba, and Elias Koteas also stars as a union boss out to protect his own interest when the bodies start piling up. There is also a welcome turn from Ned Beatty as the big shot who has a hand in most of the towns dirty dealings.
Whilst reminiscent of American Psycho, The Killer Inside Me is a much harder film to watch. Bale's version of the killer hiding in plain sight has a much more comedic tone to it -even the violence somehow draws a chuckle in it's over-the-top delivery - but whilst there are moments of humour here, the violence is far from comedic. It is sudden, vicious and shocking, leaving your eyes glued to the screen in breathless anticipation of what Affleck will do next.
It is this focus on the character, however compelling, that in a way will make some viewers lose track of the pacing and the plot of the story. At some point all of Affleck�(TM)s motives and plans becoming blurred into the background, as all you really want to see is what Affleck does next. You stop caring about to whom or why - you just want to see more.
There is something very voyeuristic about this film that forces the viewer to not only observe the killer inside our main character, but also the possibility that such raw brutality may also exist within themselves.
No comments:
Post a Comment