Ever since his portrayal of passive resister Mohatma Ghandi, Ben Kingsley has done everything he can to cement his reputation as the consummate actor. He’s so devoted to this notion that he’s even cast himself as Ghandi’s total opposite, most notably his Oscar-worthy turns in “Sexy Beast” and “House of Sand and Fog.” In his latest film “You Kill Me,” Kingsley plays Frank Falenczyk, an alcholic Polish hitman from Buffalo whose family runs a plowing company but is more successful in slaying people. When an Irish mob threatens to take over both the Falenczyk business and their “grip” on the town, Frank is called in to eliminate the threat.
When he passes out drunk and misses a crucial hit though his Uncle Roman (Phillip Baker Hall) sends him to San Francisco and enrolls him in an AA program. It is there that he meets Dave (Bill Pullman) — a gay, real estate broker who sets Frank up in an apartment and at a job working in a funeral home. Dave is Frank’s shadow, making sure he sobers up, gets his life back in order and works things out. In AA he meets Tom (Luke Wilson), another gay man who serves as Frank’s AA sponsor. While polishing up a corpse he meets Lauren Pearson (Tea Leoni) and the two begin a romance. Then things get sticky.
The deadpan dark comedy is effective and brisk. Not a minute over 90 minutes with quick, fast paced scenes, “You Kill Me” jumps right into the action and bounces along (thanks in part to a bopping soundtrack from Brazilian Marcelo Zorvas) delivering murky comedy, gangster suspense and a great big wallop of art-house melodrama. Director John Dahl, who has directed The Last Seduction, Rounders, Joy Ride and The Great Raid is flawless once again.
Perhaps the film’s only flaw is its attempts to glorify the art of killing, insofar as we’re supposed to feel bad for Kingsley because his drinking is interfering with his killing, as if that’s a terrible thing. Movies do this too often and, while it’s true to life, it’s also a bit disturbing. One of the film’s facets is its depiction of both Buffalo and San Francisco, which bring a lot of life to each of the cities. “You Kill Me” is in no way an Oscar-worthy film or a mind-blowing, must see film. Much along the lines of “Matchstick Men” (only slicker and smarter) it is the perfect NetFlix rental or, for those of us that don’t mind spending $8, a nice way to spend 90 minutes.
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