Film Reviews

You Kill Me

• Rating:
• Director: John Dahl
• Starring: Ben Kingsley
• Details: US / 92mins (15).

"Even if I did believe in God, I don't think He'd want anything to do with me." Kingsley plays Frank, a hitman whose love affair with the bottle causes him to botch his latest job. Forced by his boss Roman (Phillip Baker Hall) to clean up his act, Frank leaves for the West Coast where he joins AA, finds a part-time job in a funeral home and meets the feisty Laurel (Leoni). When Roman's organisation is squeezed by an Irish crime syndicate (headed up by Dennis Farina), Frank gets caught between his old world and his new. What's an alcoholic hitman to do? Red Rock West and The Last Seduction director John Dahl makes a welcome return to form with this black comedy. Scripted by Stephen McFeely and Christopher Markus (Narnia, The Life And Death Of Peter Sellers), You Kill Me has aspirations of being a darker Grosse Point Blank, but whereas Cusack's vehicle was consistent, You Kill Me's tone is a little ragged: when the jokes work, it's because of subtlety; when they don't it's because they were trying too hard. Kingsley's great - save his drinking binges when he drops that cool and emotionless facade, he's deadpan throughout and helps the film through its clunky moments (of which, it has to be said, are few and far between). You Kill Me raises a quirky question - does Frank quit the sauce so he can do his job better (i.e. kill people) or does he drink himself into an early grave? Hmmm.

Review by Gavin Burke