You Kill Me
Ben Kingsley, Tea Leoni, Luke Wilson
Directed by John Dahl
2007
93 minutes
You Kill Me stars Ghandi as a hitman for the mob whose drinking has gotten in the way of his work. This is a low-key dark comedy with many original and different twists.
The You Kill Me DVD jacket doesn’t do much to convince a viewer to go for it. You should. It is quite entertaining, very well made, and features a great cast.
It is the little moments that make this movie comic. The fact the killer (Ben Kingsley as Frank) works at a funeral parlor while he sobers up is a fun touch.
Another is when girlfriend Laurel (Tea Leoni in a rare good performance) learns Frank is a contract killer and ponders this while playing a shooting game in an arcade. Their relationship takes a few original turns that almost make this a romantic comedy, which it could be if it did not involve a hitman.
There is also Frank’s method of following the AA process in which you must make amends that is quite original and darkly funny.
The secondary story here involves Frank’s mob family feeling territorial pressure from another family headed by Dennis Farina: the man whose failed hit got Frank in AA. It is the violent touch in this movie.
Kingsley’s very subdued and restrained performance as Frank is another reason why this DVD works. It brings a new take to the hit man character and also makes this movie work.