You Kill Me (2007)

Average rating

(53%)

Starring:	Dennis Farina \| Ben Kingsley \| Tea Leoni \| Luke Wilson \| Bill Pullman
Director:	John Dahl
Studio:	REVOLVER ENTERTAINMENT
Run time:	89 mins
Genres:	Drama \| Thriller
Languages:	English
Released:	April 14, 2008
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Cinematic hit men are dual-edged characters who can easily slip into the role of hero or villain, making them an attractive proposition for directors looking to pack an emotional punch. YOU KILL ME stars Ben Kingsley (SEXY BEAST) as Frank Falenczyk, a hit man whose work for the Buffalo-based Mafia has been hampered by his hopeless alcoholism. Director John Dahl (THE LAST SEDUCTION) sends his lead character off to San Francisco where Alcoholics Anonymous awaits, as does Dave (Bill Pullman), who helps Frank get an apartment and a job in a mortuary. The job introduces Frank to Laurel (Taa Leoni), whom he begins a relationship with while occasionally falling off the wagon and attending AA meetings. Luke Wilson makes an appearance as a fellow alcoholic who mentors Frank through the program.

YOU KILL ME is a wonderful return to form for Dahl, who has struggled to build on his early, noir-inflected career. Kingsley is as reliable as ever in the central role, and he demonstrates an impressive array of emotions as the film progresses. Credit is also due to co-screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely who deliver a tight and hugely enjoyable plot while also adding generous doses of dark humour throughout. Intelligent and fun, YOU KILL ME is likely to gain a strong word-of-mouth reputation as viewers are lured into its fold.

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Variety

With an eclectic mix of strong-minded thesps all pulling in slightly different directions, this shape-shifting genre hybrid successfully commingles 12-step therapy, romantic comedy and hit-man thriller

Highest rated reviews

7 out of 8 people found the following review helpful:

It won't drive you to drink - it will get you drunk and hand you the keys

glennji from , 11th January, 2008

A dull plot, poor direction and lackluster cinematography combine to possibly make 'You Kill Me' the most boring movie to ever featured a hit-man, a car crash and a drunken wake. We stagger from muted scene to muted scene, unsure whether to like or hate Ben Kingsley, and in the end you feel nothing at all. Even if Ben Kingsley's character were believable -- and an alcoholic killer sent to dry out by his mobster family is more plausible than many Hollywood films -- on this occasion he was played with as much depth as a paddling-pool in the middle of the Sahara at high-noon. It's not that the acting was bad, although I found Mr. Kingsley's accent simultaneously forced and fleeting, and highly distracting. Rather, the characters were so 2-dimensional that there was simply nothing for the actors to flesh out. I really hope this screenplay was based on a novel, because in this form it just didn't cut it. Watch this film if you like bald men with bad accents, drink sherry from 2L bottles, and have trouble following the plot on the side of a McHappy meal.

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6 out of 6 people found the following review helpful:

Not a hit, man

GreenwichPaul from , 26th April, 2008

Director John Dahl has a couple of snappy thrillers under his belt, most noticeably, The Last Seduction, where he combined humour with film noir to create a terrific film. Here the accent is on the comedy with a bit of romance and thriller thrown in for good measure. Unfortunately, despite promising to be a quirky black comedy this never really goes anywhere, it doesn't work as comedy, it certainly doesn't work as thriller and the romantic subplot feels forced and unrealistic. Dahl directs competently but he isn't working with much in the way of a script and the film, even at a trim 89 minutes, outstays its welcome

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Most recent reviews

1 out of 1 people found the following review helpful:

*** May contain spoilers ***

He does,nt regret killing them , he regrets killing them badly

Northernsky from , 16th July, 2008

You Kill Me is a curious little movie. A noir/ gangster/ black comedy hybrid that skilfully integrates all these incongruous elements into a subtly pleasing whole. It may not be funny enough for those wanting copious belly laughs, it may not be viscerally exciting enough for aficionado’s of the gangster genre and i doubt it’s brackish or labyrinthine enough to cut it as classic noir . Despite this i rather enjoyed this tale of a hit man whose personal demons impinge on his work. It has quality performances from a solid cast and keeps you on your toes enough to maintain interest. Frank (Ben Kingsley) is a hit man working for the Polish mob in Buffalo. He is also an alcoholic. We first see him downing bottles of vodka before a hit .Unfortunately while staking out the proposed victim -rival Irish mob boss (Dennis Farina) -he falls into a sozzled slumber and misses his chance. Knowing they can no longer rely on him his bosses send him to San Francisco to dry out and get his act together. Once there he is overseen by officious real estate agent (Bill Pullman) who insists he join the local AA and gets him a job in a morticians dressing up corpses ready for burial. At the AA meetings he meets laconic fellow alcoholic Tom(Luke Wilson) and through his new job he meets Laurel (Tea Leoni) whose father has recently deceased. They form an unlikely bond , especially unlikely since he , deciding that honesty is the best policy tells her about his real job. But events back in Buffalo mean he will have to give up his new life and friends and return to sort things out once and for all. Director John Dahl cleverly holds this slight and ,frankly implausible, plot together dexterously helped by writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely who add lots of dry dark banter between the characters. The final scenes are truly ridiculous and no matter how darkly mysterious Frank is it’s hard to believe that a woman like Laurel would fall for him. Yet for all this You Kill Me is a slyly amusing tale of a man on the wrong path in life being offered redemption and grabbing it with both hands…only it’s not that straightforward .Now that is just like real life.

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1 out of 1 people found the following review helpful:

Black comedy at it's best

King1and from from South Gloucestershire, 10th July, 2008

Can't believe some of the reviews on this film, 'dull, switched off before end', 'didn't laugh once', 'not funny'. Well all I can say about those people is this: 1) they have no sense of humour 2) they only like shoot em ups. This film is very funny, the humour is just so well done. Yes no one really takes it seriously and obviously you have to take it with a pinch of salt. Sit back and enjoy Sir Ben's and Tea's performances, despite the age gap they do work well together and you do go, awww at the end, bit of a, 'office and a gentlemen' type thing but not so slushy. Sir Ben does do a villan well as seen in many of his films and Tea Leoni is sooo fine and sexy without trying to be. So anyone that has been put off by some of the bad reviews here, ignore them, rent it, watch it and you definately won't be disappointed.

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