You Kill Me

Genre - Comedy/Crime Drama

Year Released - 2007

Running Time - 92 minutes

Directed by John Dahl (he who directed Kill Me Again, Red Rock West, The Last Seduction, as well as others)

Written by Christoper Markus & Stephen McFeely (both of whom wrote The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe and Prince Caspian)

Cast Includes:

Ben Kingsley (Ghandi, Species, Rules of Engagement, etc)

Tea Leoni (Bad Boys, A League of Their Own, the TV show The Naked Truth, etc)

Luke Wilson (Vacancy, My Super Ex-Girlfriend, Scream 2, etc. Also the brother of Owen Wilson)

Bill Pullman (The Last Seduction, Spaceballs, Lake Placid, etc)

Philip Baker Hall (Magnolia, Rules of Engagement, Bruce Almighty, etc)

Dennis Farina (Reindeer Games, Snatch, Get Shorty, etc)

Rating: 3 Skulls

Plot Summary:

Alcoholic hitman Frank Falenczyk botches an assignment, leaving the mob family he works for to clean up the mess.

Relocating to San Francisco, Frank dries out, gets a job at a mortuary, and falls in love with Laurel.

But when the family is threatened, he returns to take care of business, with Laurel in tow.

How does an alcoholic go about shoveling snow from his walkway?

I suppose the way that Frank Falenczyk does it, at the beginning of this movie, is as good a way as any. [He tosses his liquor bottle ahead of him, about 3 feet, and then shovels to it, takes a swig, and repeats the process, until his walkway is cleared] :-)

Review:

While not the best John Dahl film out there, this one is still worth watching, just because.

If you are not familiar with John Dahl, he is a master director of noir type films - My favorite, of which, is probably Red Rock West. (which starred Nicholas Cage & Dennis Hopper)
Other John Dahl films include Kill Me Again (with Val Kilmer & Michael Madsen) - The Last Seduction (with Linda Fiorentino & Bill Pullman) - Unforgettable (with Ray Liotta) - Rounders (with Matt Damon & Edward Norton) - and Joy Ride (with Paul Walker & Steve Zahn)
I do not think that John Dahl has ever made a bad film. . .

As for this film, I can only tell you that it is quirky. It still has John Dahl's touch, it just doesn't have the usual twists & turns that I have come to expect from Mr. Dahl.

Ben Kingsley is perfect in the role of the alcoholic hitman, Frank, who after botching a hit, while drunk, ultimately feels the consequences of his actions.
When Frank relocates to San Francisco to "dry out" he gets a job at a mortuary, helping to make the dead bodies presentable.
Here, he meets Laurel, after her step-father ends up dying of a heart attack.
Laurel is played by Tea Leoni, who I really like - I do not know why, she is just cool. In my opinion, she doesn't get enough roles.
After falling for Laurel, Frank is open and honest with her, from the get-go. He tells her, up front, that he is a killer and a drunk, to which she replies - nobody's perfect. :-)

If you are already a fan of John Dahl, then you will like this movie.
If you are a fan of black comedies, then you will probably like this one too.



Jason