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Directed By
John Madden
Written By:
Hossein Amini, Elmore Leonard
Cast:
Diane Lane, Mickey Rourke, Thomas Jane, Rosario Dawson, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Lois Smith, Don McManus, Daniel Byington, Lynne Deragon, Aidan Devine, Tim Eddis, Joshua Rollins, Beatriz Yuste, Brandon McGibbon, James Anthony, James Anthony, Craig Blair, Alexis Butler, Aldred Montoya, Geoffrey Pounsett, Mark Sweeney
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Killshot (2009)
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Movie Review by Jarrod
March 25th, 2009
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'Killshot' features another great performance from Mickey Rourke; he made this before The Wrestler I believe, and returned to the type of role that defined his career. Not a gangster, but a hitman, working for the mob. Armand Degas, nicknamed Blackbird, reflective of his Native American heritage. He is a cold-blooded killer, moved by the recent death of his grandmother but not by much else. He carries out his current job; his boss has ordered him to kill his father-in-law (Hal Holbrook) (for reasons that are never fully explained), who apparently is expecting to be killed, and lies down on his bed, dressed in a suit, arms folded over his chest; Armand covers him with a sheet, places a pillow on his face, and shoots him. But he also shoots the old man's younger female acquaintance, because she "saw his face".
Armand may have a right to be paranoid; he does not like to leave potential witnesses behind. Not receiving payment for the assignment because he killed the woman, he has a chance encounter with Richie Nix (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), a psychotic young criminal trying to organize the extortion of a real estate tycoon Nelson Davies (Don McManus). He ropes Armand into the scheme, and introduces him to his girlfriend, Donna (Rosario Dawson), who lives with him in a trailer. Donna is drawn to the quiet, intense, mysterious Armand, and it is perhaps inevitable that they will end up sleeping together, Donna is not particularly stable, seems to be a former drug and sex addict.
Armand finds Richie annoying, but tolerates him because he reminds him of his deceased kid brother; Armand's other brother is in jail. The real estate thing goes horribly wrong; Armand and Richie cross paths with Wayne Colson (Thomas Jane), who is there looking for a job, and is mistaken for Davies, and his wife, Carmen (Diane Lane), who happens to be the secretary. Wayne roughs up Richie, and Armand is determined to kill the Colsons before they can reveal too much to the police. Armand is a dangerous enemy to have; eventually Wayne and Carmen will be placed in witness protection, though Armand is still able to find them, mainly by going through Carmen's mother, Lenore (Lois Smith).
The Colsons, however, are on the verge of divorce. We never quite know what problems they faced in marriage; Carmen just does not seem to want Wayne around anymore, yet calls him when she gets scared and he wants to stay with her, maybe get counseling, but ultimately complies with her wishes. Lane and Jane are a nice match; it is Carmen who is put through emotional and psychological turmoil, especially once confronted by Richie and Armand, and she lives in fear up to this point. Levitt is magnificent; his best stuff since The Lookout and Mysterious Skin, and he could not be playing a more different character.
Richie is not very bright, but pretends to be; his tough attitude masks desperate fragility, and he is the unfortunate victim, as best we gather, of an awful childhood, in state care, passed from one foster family to the other. None of this excuses his behavior; he is a vile, antisocial delinquent, who relies on thievery and murder to get what he wants. Film is based on a novel by Elmore Leonard, but was adapted, strangely enough, under the direction of John Madden, whose previous credits include Shakespeare in Love and Captain Corelli's Mandolin. This is more a story someone like Tarantino could latch onto, if it only contained a but more humor, and even a bit more action.
As it stands, it lacks originality, though I don't know if that is the fault of Leonard's source material, or the script by Hossein Amini. I would guess the latter. Allusions to Fargo are present, notably in the relationship between Degas and the motor-mouthed Richie (compare that to Peter Stormare and Steve Buscemi). Also, I sensed some inspiration from No Country for Old Men, a hired gun's ruthless pursuit of his target, though Armand is far less chilling than Anton Chigurh.
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