The Killer is a 2023 American action thriller film directed by David Fincher from a screenplay by Andrew Kevin Walker. It is based on the French graphic novel series The Killer written by Alexis "Matz" Nolent and illustrated by Luc Jacamon. The film stars Michael Fassbender in the unnamed title role, alongside Arliss Howard, Charles Parnell, Kerry O'Malley, Sala Baker, Sophie Charlotte and Tilda Swinton in supporting roles. It follows the titular assassin as he embarks on an international vendetta after a hit goes wrong.
Development on the graphic novel adaptation began in 2007 at Paramount Pictures and Plan B Entertainment, with Fincher signed on as director and Alessandro Camon as screenwriter. In 2021, Fincher later moved the project over to Netflix with Andrew Kevin Walker replacing Camon as writer.
The Killer premiered at the 80th Venice International Film Festival on September 3, 2023. It received a limited theatrical release on October 27, 2023; it began streaming on Netflix two weeks later, on November 10. The film garnered positive reception from critics, many of whom praised Fincher's direction and Fassbender's performance.
Plot[]
| Spoiler Warning: The following contains important plot details of the entire film. |
An unnamed professional assassin (credited as "The Killer") stakes out a Parisian hotel room. He prepares to use a sniper rifle to kill a target who will check into the hotel room at an unspecified time. While waiting for the target over a week, he eats, practices yoga, listens to The Smiths, and talks on the phone with his handler, an attorney and his former university law professor, Edward "Eddie" Hodges. The Killer narrates these activities, stressing the mantra of his rules and the routine—even boring—nature of his job and how his cynicism and lack of empathy are beneficial for his chosen occupation, all while growing increasingly sleep-deprived. The target eventually arrives in the company of a dominatrix. The Killer misses his target, accidentally shooting the dominatrix. He flees on an e-scooter, successfully evading the police and disposing his rifle and gear. He then flies to the United States under one of numerous fake identities.
The Killer returns to his lavish compound in the Dominican Republic to find it has been broken into and his romantic partner Magdala has been attacked. The Killer finds her in an intensive care unit of a hospital, with her brother Marcus watching over her. He learns Magdala was interrogated and tortured by two assassins but managed to injure one of them and escape. He tracks down the taxi driver, Leo, who drove the assassins to the Killer's home. Leo identifies a man with an injured leg, whom he called "The Brute", and a woman who "resembled a Q-Tip". The Killer shoots and kills Leo, leaving his body in his taxi, and, breaking his "Fight only the battle you're paid to fight" rule, seeks to track down the two assassins.
The Killer travels to Hodges' office in New Orleans, Louisiana, and gains entry to the building disguised as a custodial worker. After forcing Dolores, Hodges' secretary and fellow handler, to restrain Hodges and then herself, he destroys the electronic records of their work together. As Hodges attempts to deescalate the situation, The Killer shoots him in the chest with a nail gun in an attempt to torture the names of the hitmen out of him, but Hodges denies to reveal the names and dies quicker than The Killer anticipated, aspirating his own blood. Dolores offers to show The Killer the assassins' identities in her personal paper files in her home, asking in return that The Killer give her a quick and non-suspicious death so her children can claim the life insurancepayout. After receiving the names at her home, The Killer breaks his rule not to show empathy and breaks her neck and she falls down a flight of stairs, making the fall look like an accident. Before traveling to the next destination, The Killer disposes Hodges' body.
The Killer drives to St. Petersburg, Florida, identifying The Brute by his limp. After drugging his pit-bull, The Killer enters his house to kill him, only to be tackled and have to engage in a lengthy fight with the assassin, who recognizes The Killer, before The Killer shoots him and flees from his reawakened dog, burning down his home with a Molotov cocktail.
The Killer travels to Beacon, New York, where he confronts The Expert "Q-Tip" assassin in a gourmet restaurant. Appearing to accept her fate, The Expert questions The Killer's motivations in continuing and lessening competency at his profession, as they partake in her "last supper" of whiskey. Proceeding outside to the park, The Expert appears to trip on the stairs and requests The Killer to give her a hand. The Killer, instead, shoots her dead and notices she had a concealed knife in her hand.
The Killer finally travels to Chicago, where the client, billionaire venture capitalist Henderson "Clay" Claybourne, lives in an upscale penthouse. The Killer transfers the entirety of his finances to the Dominican Republic under the name Jefferson and observes Claybourne's routine. The Killer then uses inexpensive tools purchased on Amazon to clone Claybourne's keycard and gain access to his penthouse. The Killer confronts Claybourne at gunpoint in his penthouse, asking him if he ordered the retaliatory hit out of personal grievance. Claybourne claims that he has no personal problem with him and, as a first-time client of a hitman, agreed to pay Hodges for "the trail to be scrubbed". Noting his general indifference and having had no specific idea in mind as to why an assassin would come after him, The Killer spares Claybourne, though promising him a "slow death" if Claybourne ever comes for him.
Later, The Killer returns to the Dominican Republic and settles next to a recovering Magdala.
| Spoiler Warning: All spoilers have been stated and have ended here. |
Cast[]
- Michael Fassbender as The Killer
- Tilda Swinton as The Expert
- Charles Parnell as The Lawyer, Hodges
- Arliss Howard as The Client, Claybourne
- Kerry O'Malley as Dolores
- Sophie Charlotte as Magdala
- Emiliano Pernía as Marcus
- Gabriel Polanco as Leo
- Sala Baker as The Brute
- Monique Ganderton as The Dominatrix
- Daran Norris as Deep South Lounge greeter
- Jack Kesy as Salesman
Production[]
In November 2007, months after the release of his film Zodiac (2007), it was reported that David Fincher would be directing an adaptation of the Matz French comic book The Killer, with Allesandro Camon writing the screenplay, Brad Pitt's Plan B Entertainment producing and Paramount Pictures distributing. By February 2021, Fincher had taken the project to Netflix, where he had signed an overall deal, with Andrew Kevin Walker now writing the script and Michael Fassbender circling the lead role. By June, it was reported that Fincher was planning to begin filming in November 2021 in Paris, with cinematographer Erik Messerschmidt. Tilda Swinton joined the cast in October.
Principal photography began in November 2021 in Paris. It continued in the Dominican Republic in December 2021, then moved to New Orleans later that month. It moved again to Chicago in February 2022, and then to St. Charles, Illinois (doubling for suburban Beacon, New York), in March 2022 for ten days, wrapping later that month.
Music[]
In February 2023, it was reported that Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross were composing for the film in their fifth film collaboration with Fincher, following The Social Network (2010), The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011), Gone Girl (2014) and Mank (2020). It was confirmed in September 2023 that the soundtrack would mainly feature songs from English rock band the Smiths.
Release[]
The Killer premiered in-competition at the 80th Venice International Film Festival on September 3, 2023. It was picked up for a surprise screening at the 71st San Sebastián International Film Festival set for September 30, 2023. It was also screened at the 28th Busan International Film Festival in the "Icon" section on October 6, 2023.
The film began a limited theatrical release on October 27, 2023, via Netflix, before streaming on the platform on November 10, two weeks later.
Reception[]
The Killer received positive reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, 85% of 272 critics' aggregated reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.4/10. The website's consensus reads: "The Killer finds director David Fincher on firm footing with a stylish and engaging thriller that proves a perfect match for leading man Michael Fassbender." Metacritic assigned the film an average score of 73 out of 100, based on 58 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.
Multiple reviews cited comparisons to French crime thriller Le Samouraï (1967).
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