> The Killer Inside Me
3 stars (out of 5)
Director: Michael Winterbottom
Cast: Casey Affleck, Kate Hudson, Jessica Alba, Bill Pullman
Rating: (R18)
Michael Winterbottom's bucket list seems to be loaded with film taboos most directors would run a mile from. After raising film critics' blood pressure with controversial sex in 2004's 9 Songs, Winterbottom has done it again with extreme violence.
The sadism in The Killer Inside Me is nothing that hasn't been dealt with before in cinema; it's more that Winterbottom chooses to confront his audience with an unflinching point of view, laying bare the sickening spectacle of violence against women.
In adapting Jim Thompson's 1952 novel of the same name, Winterbottom has picked up a poisoned chalice. With Quentin Tarantino once attached to the project, then Andrew Dominick losing interest in it, The Killer Inside Me might be one of those works best avoided.
Nothing about the aesthetics of Winterbottom's homage to 1950s noir can be faulted. And with some brilliant performances from a top-notch cast, The Killer Inside Me has almost every ingredient in place, except for cohesive storytelling.
Watching the film, an eerie anticipation of carnage is hard to avoid and, once you cross that little hurdle, it's hard to know what to make of the confused plot.
Based on the evil urges of small-town deputy Lou Ford (Casey Affleck), the film gives plenty of hints something even more sinister is waiting in the wings, then hits the speed wobbles trying to work through it.
As Ford reveals a sickening alter ego, the redemptive features needed to offset his random nastiness never seem to emerge. Even getting inside Ford's head for some explanation to his behaviour seems a stretch too far. The Killer Inside Me is exactly what it says, no more and no less.
Best thing: The '50s noir styling
Worst thing: The lack of cohesion.
See it with: Alone; an absolute no-no as a date film.
- Mark Orton
