While drying out on the west coast, an alcoholic hitman befriends a sharp-tongued woman who might just come in handy when it's time for him to return to Buffalo and settle some old scores.
Sometime auteur John Dahl was one of the unsung heroes of the 1990s indie scene, and had the circuit not been home to mavericks like Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez, Noah Baumbach or Kevin Smith, would've taken his rightful place as the new John Sayles. For Dahl's sterling work in film noir is second to none: 'Kill Me Again' (1989) & 'Red Rock West' (1992) being among the finest films of their genre, whilst even his most overrated noir; 'The Last Seduction' (1994) had its moments of darkly comic brilliance. Contemporary N.Y. Poker drama 'Rounders' (1998), featuring a pair of outstanding performances by Ed Norton & Matt Damon, is easily Dhal's most underrated picture to date, and one of my all time favourite movies. After a few years of gun-for-hire work on listless studio fare, 'You Kill Me' marks somewhat of a return to form, albeit in a brand new and often awkward genre: The Screwball Comedy. Frank Falenczyk, played by the inimitable Ben Kingsley, is an alcoholic assassin for the Polish mafia (you're smiling already) who falls asleep on an important hit, and is ordered to sober up on pain of death in San Francisco. Its a classic Pole-out-of-water story that sees Frank come to blows with smarmy estate agent (Dahl regular Bill Pullman), befriend earnest 'Alcoholics Anonymous' man Luke Wilson ('Idiocracy') and fall in love with nonchalant saleswoman Tea Leoni all whilst arch-enemy / Irish mob boss; the ever excellent Dennis Farina, instigates an endgame massacre. Kingsley, still sporting that 'Sexy Beast', 'Lucky Number Sleven' goatee, delivers a fine, nuanced performance as the sauced killer; his sardonic humour / resigned sighs not dissimilar to Robert DeNiro in 'Midnight Run' and 'Jackie Brown'. Tea Leoni is an actress I haven't quite got the measure of; Leoni seems to make a decent movie every four or five years, and she's likeable enough here, though it's pretty much the same kooky shtick we've seen before. Markus & McFeely's script is a significant departure from their work on the 'Narnia' franchise, and plays out like quality Elmore Leonard with a welcome shot of dry humour / comic violence. The hit man comedy has been done to death with varying degrees of success, from memorable movies like 'The Matador' to hit n' miss affairs like 'The Whole Nine Yards'. And though it may miss the mark in its mission to better John Cusack's superlative 'Grosse Pointe Blank', 'You Kill Me' is still an amusing ride while it lasts; I may not watch it again for some time, but its definitely worth a shot.
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Please note this is a region 2 DVD and will require a region 2 (Europe) or region Free DVD Player in order to play. Frank Falenczyk (Ben Kingsley) loves his job. He just happens to be the hit-man for his Polish mob family in Buffalo, New York. But Frank's got a drinking problem and when he messes up a critical assignment that puts the family business in peril, his uncle (Philip Baker Hall) sends him to San Francisco to clean up his act. Played with gruff charm by Kingsley, Frank is not a touchy-feely kind of guy. But he starts going to AA meetings, gets a sponsor (played by Luke Wilson) and a job at a mortuary where he falls for the tart-tongued Laurel (Téa Leoni), a woman who is dangerously devoid of boundaries. Meanwhile, things aren't going well in Buffalo where an upstart Irish gang is threatening the family business. When violence erupts, Frank is forced to return home and with an unlikely assist from Laurel, faces old rivals on new terms. Actors Philip Baker Hall, Ben Kingsley, Téa Leoni, Luke Wilson, Bill Pullman, Dennis Farina, Jayne Eastwood, Katie Messina & Tracy McMahon Director John Dahl Certificate 15 years and over Year 2007 Languages English
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