07-07-30 You Kill Me (2007)

Seen: July 20th, 2007
Format: Theater
Rating: 4

I caught this on opening day, early in the morning. Ben Kingsley and Téa Leoni in the leads, Bill Pullman, Philip Baker Hall, Dennis Farina and Luke Wilson in support. An alchoholic hitman in recovery. Highjinks abound. How can it miss?

Low and outside, evidently.

There's nothing bad about this film, but the problem is that there's no much good about it either. Kingsley is solid and imbues Frank with a sense of solidity. He's multi-dimensional, but still rather defined by his career and his addiction. This is mostly Kingsley's work, however. From a writing perspective I didn't find Frank that compelling.

Leoni's Laurel is a similar story. While her opening moments are strong, we sure don't know much about this woman other that she's in sales and can't understand "no". This is a pretty tenuous definition to hang a full fledged character on. Leoni tries gamely, but isn't as successful as Kingsley.

The supporting roles are OK. Some have a bit more depth than we'd expect. Pullman and Wilson do admirable jobs. While their characters aren't very pivotal, they are involved, and they contribute nicely and help the plot along. The rest are good, but generally cliche.

The premise itself is decent, but the plot comes off as heavy. This feels like a film made by someone in recovery. At its heart, it's very serious, very heavy, almost maudlin at times. There's an underlying sense of dispair and the potential for more dispair, even when times are supposedly good.

What happens here is far from fresh. The plot is a staple in gangland films. There's nothing really new or interesting here from that perspective. I'm assuming the filmmakers thought was that the Frank and his situation would extend this fundamental framework and bring a new flavor and relevence to it. Not quite.

What comic relief there is is generally dark. There's a lot of morgue humor. There's a lot of self deprecating humor. While some of this tries to pass itself off as humorous self realization, it really doesn't wash. This film is a downer. It sometimes tries to feel good about itself, but reins itself in before we can actually become optimistic.

I had high hopes for this. There are some genuinely funn moments, and Frank isn't a complete wastr as a character, but overall this is maudlin and flat. Its a shame it couldn't let it self succeed a little.

The Good: Interesting premise, decent acting

The Bad: Weak and tired story

The Ugly: What does "Anonymous" mean, actually?