The Killer offers a glimpse into the life of a "successful" (as he tells us dozens of times...) contract killer (hitman). The script is purposely hypnotic, with repetition after repetition after repetition, and there is no character development or plot beyond the main protagonist's quest to quash the evil forces arrayed against him for botching an equally evil mission.
The cinematography is very good, but I feel that there was not really enough here to count as a film. I understand that the structure is intended to reflect the nihilism and meaningless of the life of this professional killer, but I am not convinced that such persons are necessarily so dreary and emotionally flat. I imagine that many of them simply compartmentalize, lead double lives, like the hitmen who work for directly for the mafia, rather than for isolated one-shot clients. They have actual families and friends and seem to derive the usual meaning from those associations, which they wish to maintain. In contrast, it is unclear what is driving this particular person to continue to ply his trade long after the initial quest for money has been more than amply achieved.
The cinematography is very good, but I feel that there was not really enough here to count as a film. I understand that the structure is intended to reflect the nihilism and meaningless of the life of this professional killer, but I am not convinced that such persons are necessarily so dreary and emotionally flat. I imagine that many of them simply compartmentalize, lead double lives, like the hitmen who work for directly for the mafia, rather than for isolated one-shot clients. They have actual families and friends and seem to derive the usual meaning from those associations, which they wish to maintain. In contrast, it is unclear what is driving this particular person to continue to ply his trade long after the initial quest for money has been more than amply achieved.
