David Fincher, the legendary filmmaker behind modern classics like Fight Club, Gone Girl, Se7en and The Social Network, is back with his latest movie The Killer. After it first premiered at the Venice Film Festival in September and hit select theaters a couple of weeks ago, the crime thriller is now available to stream with a Netflix subscription. Audiences at home have already made The Killer the No. 1 movie on the streaming service, and they can’t stop collectively commenting on one specific thing from the movie.
The Killer is an adaptation of the French graphic novel of the same name by Alexis "Matz" Nolent and artist Luc Jacamon. It follows a professional assassin who becomes a target himself after one of his hits go terribly wrong. Since the movie’s release, audiences have taken to Twitter to share their thoughts and so many of them are about the constant inner monologuing of Michael Fassbender’s titular character.
*3min into The Killer*oh he’s gonna maintain this voiceover the whole time, huh?*20min into The Killer*stick to the plan. anticipate, don’t improvise. trust no one. pic.twitter.com/1bKjBtSOpUNovember 13, 2023
As it turns out, the director made the decision to employ Michael Fassbender’s inner monologue as a voiceover throughout the film, and it’s either throwing people off or they are really digging it. Here’s another notable reaction:
My wife watching the first 20 minutes of The Killer: “Does this dude ever shut the fuck up?”November 11, 2023
The Killer is David Fincher’s first movie since 2020’s Mank, which incited some mixed thoughts among audiences and is also available to stream on Netflix. This new film has similarly been met with both positive and negative reactions from critics and audiences. CinemaBlend’s The Killer review had our own Eric Eisenberg giving the film a three out of five, calling it a “disappointing” cinematic experience.
Great part of watching The Killer is calling the titular killer a loser after everything he says https://t.co/fodfYztRbnNovember 11, 2023
As one can surmise by the above tweet, the fact that Michael Fassbender’s character inner monologues throughout the movie makes it prime territory for the creation of some memeable internet moments. The one screenshot of Fassbender’s killer on a bus looking depressed among subtitles of the movie reading “living amongst the ‘normies,’” for example, is already making the rounds. This comment additionally sums up what some people think about the narrative device Fincher chose for The Killer:
can't take THE KILLER seriously because his internal monologues sound like they were written for joe from YOUNovember 14, 2023
Prior to the release of The Killer, David Fincher shared that Michael Fassbender actually chose to try not to blink while filming sequences for The Killer, which only adds to the creepy tension of the thriller. Although many jumped to joking about The Killer’s inner monologues throughout the movie, a lot of people were really into this element of the movie. Check out this reaction:
The Killer is a 2 hour assault on the screenwriting rule "avoid writing voice over."It is also an interesting examination of how out of alignment our inner monologues often are with reality. Perfect film for a Sunday afternoon.November 13, 2023
David Fincher has an epic filmography thus far, so of course there’s going to be a lot of eyes, ears and words on his latest movie. Fincher was plotting the adaptation of The Killer as far back as 2007, so as you can imagine, the voiceover element is just as calculated as the leading character’s killer instincts.
