The Killer

As he moves from one target to the next, The Killer dissects the credentials, calculations, and most importantly, the conflicted conscience of a man who so nonchalantly ends the lives of others while so rigorously protecting his own.

This methodical yet fascinating character study from director David Fincher is a stylish and meticulously crafted probe of the troubled psyche of an assassin with a career’s worth of blood on his hands, forced to confront his past with little hope of redemption.

“If you are unable to endure boredom, this work is not for you,” explains the title character (Michael Fassbender) as part of a rambling internal monologue that often speaks both of the protagonist and the movie itself.

The story protects the treasured anonymity of the fastidious gunman as he waits patiently in a Paris high-rise for an evidently corrupt businessman to arrive home in an adjacent building. We don’t know who hired him, or their motives.

With the Smiths blaring in his earbuds, the monotonous narration details his philosophy on life and death, his moral compass or lack thereof, and how he justifies his line of work. Yet it also functions as a confessional or perhaps an outlet for repressed guilt and remorse.

But in a job where everything relies on precision and perfection, what happens when you make a mistake? In this case, it triggers an odyssey of covering his tracks and avenging a life of aliases and disguises, isolated and perpetually on the run.

As it shifts to the Dominican Republic, New Orleans, Chicago, New York, and elsewhere, every confrontation seems to culminate in brutal violence.

With little outward dialogue to work with, Fassbender’s portrayal is quietly understated while relying extensively on body language and facial expressions to cautiously communicate.

Despite the relative lack of action suggested by the title, the screenplay by Andrew Kevin Walker (who previously teamed with Fincher on Seven) — adapted from a French graphic novel — is sharp and suspenseful.

The film traverses familiar thematic territory and offers minimal insight or context. Its antihero is merciless and unsympathetic, which creates an obstacle to our emotional investment, especially when his victims, by design, are rendered with such minimal background detail.

Instead, The Killer draws us in through a wry and sardonic sense of humor, and resists transitioning into a conventional morality tale. It’s simply a good film about a bad man.

Rated R, 118 minutes.