|
 In Cinemas Thursday [R18+]
Director: Michael Winterbottom
Runtime: 109mins
Editor’s Note: Michael Winterbottom’s latest film has been stirring up controversy amongst international critics owing to its graphic depiction of violence against women. Some have lauded its unsparing insight into the mind of a horribly twisted individual, while others have condemned its disturbing scenes as exploitative and disingenuous. In an attempt to generate a balanced review, Rave sent the (dating) critical duo of Elwood Lee and Brooke Burgess to see the film and provide both male and female perspectives. Read on…
Elwood Lee: Based on Jim Thompson’s book of the same name, The Killer Inside Me has garnered a reputation as being a technically proficient yet harrowingly misogynist film that had no place being at the Sundance Film Festival. Although had I not known about its reputation, I don’t think I would have thought about it all that much, which is why my better half was also present at the screening to write about it.
Casey Affleck plays a small town sheriff by the name of Lou Ford who is tasked to chase prostitute Joyce Lakeland (Jessica Alba) out of town. Instead he enters a sadomasochistic relationship with her, while also finding out that she is having a relationship with the son of a wealthy construction magnate Chester Conway (Ned Beatty). Ford blames Conway for the death of his brother, and hatches a plan with Joyce to blackmail Conway. Unfortunately for Joyce, her relationship with Ford has ignited sociopathic tendencies that he was never able to shake off.
Affleck’s performance of Ford is somewhat terrifying and well thought out. He never overplays his role and he is completely believable. In fact everyone is very well cast and for the most part has a face that belongs to the period, particularly Kate Hudson. If you can get past being scared or offended by the film you may notice the production design, costumes and photography as being undeniably exquisite.
Not everything is perfect however, as the film is let down by the central connection between Ford and Lakeland. So much of Lou Ford’s motivation is dependent on his recent misdeeds regarding Joyce Lakeland, that you wonder why director Winterbottom did not dedicate more time into developing the relationship a bit further.
On the whole, if you love film noir, pulps and classic hard-boiled crime fiction of any medium, you owe it to yourself to see the film.
Brooke Burgess: The Killer Inside Me isn’t much of a date movie, and if you’ve read any of the angry reviews you probably wouldn’t treat it like one. Controversial films are something of a shared interest of ours though, so just as Elwood and I suffered through Antichrist together, we decide to grimace through Michael Winterbottom’s latest work as a team. Now that the film is over, I’m realising the hardest part of seeing it is telling people that I really enjoyed it.
I had very low expectations for The Killer Inside Me. Almost every review I’d read had condemned it as misogynist and brutally violent – and it is both of those things, but it is also well written, well performed and beautifully shot.
Casey Affleck is a seemingly trustworthy small town cop with sociopath tendencies who is struggling to conceal his brutal crimes. And his crimes are incredibly savage – this is not a film for the squeamish. The misogyny in question isn’t hard to find either. All of the female characters in the film are used as sex objects and punching bags, sometimes both at once.
Although I went into this film looking for it’s negative qualities, it really surprised me. The violence is far from glamorous or titillating, and although it was sickening it succeeded in illustrating the cruel side of Affleck’s character. His presence on screen is so full of tension it’s like watching children play with a loaded gun. No one likes seeing a woman beaten to a pulp, but this is a film about a killer who kills women (as many killers do). He isn’t a hero; he’s a despicable and disturbed man who is portrayed as such. Expecting the audience to misread this character as a hero is unfairly underestimating them.
I’m probably offending someone by getting behind this movie, but at the end of the day I’m just not sure it deserves to be condemned. I found a lot to like about the film, and while I was uneasy about the violence, I wasn’t offended. That is clearly not going to be the case with everyone, so the only real piece of advice I can give here is probably don’t take your brand new GF or BF to see The Killer Inside Me.
****
ELWOOD LEE
***½
BROOKE BURGESS
|
| Comments are submitted for possible publication on the condition that they may be edited. Poster's IP addresses are logged. |
|
Be first to comment on this article
