Early scenes can have a profound impact. With a strong opening, it is easy to forgive later missteps; conversely, a poor opening can derail a movie from the get-go. Michael Winterbottom’s The Killer Inside Me, unfortunately, is an example of the latter. It’s not the source material, a novel by pulpist Jim Thompson , for a number of Thompson adaptations have been successful. It’s not the acting, for Casey Affleck has the polite-but-crazy act down pat. The misstep, I think, is the inability/reluctance to illuminate the motivations of Lou Ford, the psychopathic anti-hero. Handsomely mounted and with an evocative sense of place, Winterbottom’s work deflates as it offers little insight into its shocking violence.
On the surface, Deputy Sheriff Lou Ford (Affleck) is a likable guy. He presides over his West Texas town with quiet confidence, and is always polite to his neighbors. Unlike most Texas sheriffs (I’m guessing), he’s also got an intellectual streak – he listens to opera, reads voraciously, and is adept at the piano. Beneath the veneer, however, is the titular killer. With startling brutality, Lou’s monstrous side appears in the first interaction with local prostitute Joyce (Jessica Alba). They embark upon a torrid affair (Joyce likes the rough stuff), which lasts until Lou attacks Joyce and kills/frames her boyfriend. The town’s prosecutor (Simon Baker) and union boss (Elias Koteas) are suspicious, but Lou has convenient answers for all their questions. Lou uses his standing in the community to deflect the accusations – it helps that the sheriff (Tom Bower) and girlfriend Amy (Kate Hudson) think the world of him. He almost gets away with murder, but the killer is insatiable. Lies pile upon lies, and even as Lou’s world crumbles, he cannot subdue his darker impulses.
A few weeks ago Psycho celebrated its fiftieth anniversary, a fact I share to give a sense of how ubiquitous characters like Norman Bates and Lou Ford are. They even share a similar source of psychosis – in flashbacks to Lou’s childhood, we see how his mom blurred the line between sexuality and violence. The difference between Hitchcock and Winterbottom is the late director carefully revealed his character’s insanity. Winterbottom and co-screenwriter John Curran, on the other hand, have the subtlety of a sledge hammer. Within five minutes (a time interval that allows little context), Lou sadistically violates Joyce. Moments later the sexual assault becomes bizarrely consensual. Perhaps in Thompson’s novel there is a deeper explanation why this happens, but here it's presented so early that exploitation forces distance from the action. Affleck and Alba make use of their gifts, yet their talent is immaterial because immediate shock hinders subsequent attempts at dramatic tension. Later Lou mercilessly beats more women – as before, he seems less like a monster and more like the result of a writer without ideas. The procedural elements are competent, but there’s no stake in what happens to Lou, so even his inevitable comeuppance grows tedious.
The title The Killer Inside Me suggests a separation between Lou and his murderous tendencies, yet Winterbottom clearly favors one side more than the other. In point of fact, I’ve abandoned discussion of entire subplots (important ones) simply because Lou’s dark side is handled too bluntly. Don’t get me wrong – I don’t find the movie offensive, nor did it inspire moral outrage. It’s just easy to lose interest in noir once human nature becomes secondary to visceral experience. I can see why Winterbottom chose to explore Ford this way, but his bold salvo didn’t have the desired payoff. By focusing on the “why” and less on the “how,” I’m sure the director’s next effort will be far more rewarding.
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Previously in Another Movie Guy?:
- 9/16: Another Movie Guy?: "The Interrupters."
- 9/16: Another Movie Guy?: "Straw Dogs."
- 8/31: Another Movie Guy?: "The Debt."
- 8/26: Another Movie Guy?: "Pianomania."
- 8/26: Another Movie Guy?: "Brighton Rock."
- 8/19: Another Movie Guy?: "The Names of Love."
- 8/19: Another Movie Guy?: "Attack the Block."
- 8/12: Another Movie Guy?: "The Guard."
- 8/12: Another Movie Guy?: "30 Minutes or Less."
- 8/5: Another Movie Guy?: "The Devil's Double."
God loves a cheerful giver.
you're entirely wrong about this one brother... it's easily one of the sexiest most fucked up movies ive ever seen (unless they markedly edited it from the version at sundance)...motivations are worthless, a truism this movie makes crystal clear. Also, the plot is highly different from the books which you would know if you weren't illiterate (jk <3)
http://www.brightestyoungthings.com/articles/article/view/id/51709
Killer Inside Me
WATCH as Casey Affleck blandly noirish
spanks and fucks the town whore (Miss J. Alba)
to death, then does the same to Miss K Hudson,
bare assed, bleeding faces pleading for more!
GRIMACE with secret glee at the killers confidence,
evading persecution, raining vengeance on
pussy Texan polite society, frying
weak and strong together like so many eggs!
SQUIRM as he shifts to apologizing,
recalling his childhood sexual trauma!
Jessica Alba walked out of the premier,
Director left to stutter through Q&A.
Last song playing over the conflagration--
croons “Shame On You.” What, are you talkin to me?
Peter is so my hero with that last comment.
Peter's sonnet is 100% accurate, yet we have different opinions. I guess this means you should see it for yourself.
158114 @Alan Zilberman: I just watched it and I loved it! It didn't really shock me, but I was into it from start to finish. I think the whole point of the movie, and of revealing his true nature up front, was to make clear that the "why" didn't matter, in the end. I mean, we're talking about serial killing. Regardless of the reason why the killer does it, the fact is that it's happening and affecting people. What did matter and what makes this movie great is that HE DIDN'T CHANGE AT ALL. I mean, how crazy is it that his character stayed unphased and unemotional for the whole film, even as the entire town caught on to him? The only other villain I can think of who fits that bill is Javier Bardem's character in No Country, but the difference between these two is that Bardem wasn't trying to function in everyday life. In a small southern town as a good guy, nonetheless. It would be way harder to continue killing mercilessly if you were a fixture in a small town and actually had some connection to people than if you were some drifter. I do think that he eventually broke because of how he felt about Alba's character and everything that had happened, but even then he thought killing was a logical necessity to get him out of a jam and didn't hesitate. His motive was to clean up his loose ends, regardless of who he had to kill, and he never lost that.
Oh, and I disagree that the beating-to-consensual scene was inexplicable or happened too fast... it seemed like a natural progression to me - not forced or gratiuitous - and I felt like it was a good way to get to know both of their characters without wasting a lot of time. I totally bought their connection and her loyalty to him. Also, I would have been pissed if they had focused more on why he did it. How many times have we seen the whole "I kill because I was abused" plot? It would have been boring and distracting and taken away from Affleck's character, which is what makes this movie unique. Sorry, Alan. Total disagreement here, but thanks for telling me about the movie!