For his first film in three years, David Fincher goes back to his favourite stomping ground. The thriller. Se7en, Gone Girl and Zodiac all marked him out as one of the most stylish, imaginative directors going, and one who loved to play games with his audience.
That combination of mischief and chilly elegance returns in The Killer, based on the graphic novel of the same name by Alexis “Matz” Nolent. We never know the assassin’s name. What we do know is that he’s the ultimate professional with an eye for meticulous detail and an enviable track record. A series of mantras keep him so focused that scruples and regrets never cross his mind. But a big job goes spectacularly wrong and he finds himself in just as much demand but for all the wrong reasons. The hunter is now the hunted, his former employers are on his tail and his attempts at disappearing into anonymity simply don’t work. He’s left with just one alternative: to use those once-valued skills to wipe out his pursuers, one in particular who is very much his equal.
