THE STORY: After a fateful mistake, a killer faces his employers and himself in an international chase that he insists is in no way personal.“The Assassin”: available on Netflix from November 10th.
Review: Francisco Quintas
In the words of American critic Chris Stuckmann, director David Fincher is “the star of his own films”, consecutive projects far from being chosen at random. When it comes to selecting a script to work on, the filmmaker of “Seven Deadly Sins” (1995) and “Combat Club” (1999) reaffirms his artistic greatness, as well as a dose of courage that, arguably, many (young ) creators.Fincher is a cynic by nature, an incurable pessimist. As such, whether it starts from a simple or extraordinary premise, it highlights a tendency to summarize behaviors, heroic journeys and dramatic outcomes to the most primitive and collective human perversity. The Mark Zuckerberg of “The Social Network” (2010) is not a technology guru, but, yes, a tantrum teenager who wanted revenge on his ex-girlfriend, becoming the youngest billionaire in the world. “Em Parte Incerta” (2014) is a brilliant lie about the projections of marriage and gender in a poisonous entertainment society. It is worth finding out, this time, what nihilism gave rise to “The Assassin”. There was a growing fear that Fincher, using the homonymous comic book by Frenchman Alexis Nolent, would have given in to the cinematographic fetish for evildoers and killers, limiting himself staging a mechanical exercise by a professional killer in search of revenge. Before corroborating or refuting such a hypothesis, it was assumed that the technical excellence of so many other works would be guaranteed. In fact, the collaboration with cinematographer Erik Messerschmidt and sound director Ren Klyce once again creates a tense and evil atmosphere, while the original music by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross spices up what was already a highly captivating and ominous audiovisual rhythm. . ” data-title=””The Killer”: a mechanical exercise with thick layers from the pessimist David Fincher – SAPO Mag”> As far as the story is concerned, depending on who comments, “The Killer” presents a narrative purity or a weak structure. imaginative. Limited to the deep and calculating ocular expressions of Michael Fassbender, an actor with a disconcerting serenity, the character kills a lot of people and remains in constant movement. Efficient and silent, he resigns himself to a narration of banal or philosophical observations, while chews a McDonald’s hamburger and listens to The Smiths on headphones. In its minimalist motivation and plot, “The Killer” has similarities to popular action films such as “John Wick” (2014). However, the pragmatic and somewhat cold development of the main character could widen the emotional gap between it and the viewer. We can point out considerable omissions of information and a rushed contextualization, but this wouldn’t be a David Fincher film if it didn’t propose some subversion of gender and expectations. After all, what is this killer talking about? Although no speculation has been confirmed by the author, as is usual, the film has been described as, among other things, a twisted analysis of the relationship between the individual and the job that consumes him. . This unnamed professional killer is “one of many”, a citizen who deconstructs and goes against the rigid professional methods of which he constantly convinces himself, unable to contemplate reform, due to a boring home life or an addiction to work. comments would not be at all far from the ideas of Fincher, a voracious thinker of the sludge and vices of post-capitalism in the 21st century, who has composed an antithesis of current action films. In case these interpretations are completely wrong, “The Assassin” , in any case, fulfills and elevates the director’s technical rigor and proposes an atypical cinema viewing. If we are already used to accessing our Netflix account for much less, a David Fincher film will never be wasted time.