O Assassino

Michael Fassbender mexe-se, anda e dá um tom de voz interessante. E isso é tudo. As suas reflexões em monólogo são tão vazias como a arte do seu personagem, e já vimos antes o bater naturalista de dois profissionais de sangue frio noutros locais em desempenhos mais intensos. A simplicidade da história não importaria se fosse compensada com momentos imaginativos, perfis psicológicos originais do personagem principal e jogos formais. Mas The Killer não oferece nada disso. A forma é precisa e limpa, mas sem graça. Um encontro à mesa com Tilda Swinton, perfeitamente escolhida, desperta a curiosidade e a participação do espetador quase como o encontro cara a cara de Al Pacino e Robert De Niro em Heat - Cidade sob Pressão, mas é também a única cena que recordo do filme. Não é o suficiente para David Fincher. Como um perfil igualmente minimalista, orientado para o autor e mais emocionalmente envolvente de um assassino, prefiro claramente The American com George Clooney. (29/11/2023)

Stick to the plan. Anticipate. Don’t improvise. Trust no one. Moving close to a competitor in the field like Anton Chigurh, he would sit across in a chair and say his piece: "If the rules you followed brought you to this, what use were those rules?" But does the emotionally detached android David even adhere to his own rules when showing weakness? Is missing the target and pretending to follow the motto "I. Don’t. Give. A. Fuck." just a lie he tells himself? Sarcastic voiceover commentary, stark methodical content, a fitting coldness in form, and Fassbender’s performance, which leaves the great grizzly cowering in its den for the rest of its life. The question remains: who is the great grizzly? Best scene: The Last Supper of Tilda Swinton. (13/11/2023)

A weaker moment for David Fincher. The trailer touted an attractive thriller about a hitman, which seemed to be his strongest point, but the result is not very satisfying. The first half hour is excellent, as we watch Michael Fassbender in an apartment preparing to shoot someone with a sniper rifle. I liked the attention to detail, his preparation and the excellent monologues, which consisted of various statistics and philosophising, I that enjoyed a lot (too bad the whole film wasn't in this style), but then it takes a bit of a turn and starts to fall rather flat. The second half in particular is already quite contrived. I was kind of hoping that Fincher would focus on the hitman style, that we'd be watching a professional assassin going from target to target and various forms of defusing with high attention to detail, but this another personal revenge that doesn't stand out from the competition in anything interesting, and Fincher's signature isn't very recognizable. Fassbender's acting is good, likewise of course with the craftsmanship, but plot-wise it doesn't have any balls, there's not much action either, no satisfying twist (at least the fight in the apartment had balls, it was pleasantly gritty, with great cinematography and interestingly shot, it was very palpable, it was the highlight of the film for me), the ending is completely devoid of zest. Shame, the potential here was definitely higher. 6/10. (16/11/2023)

Since David Fincher started collaborating with Netflix, it seems like he's been making whatever he wants, and it's clear that this isn't working out. With The Killer, it feels like he was determined to make a movie about a murderer, a subject he enjoys exploring. However, the result is that Michael Fassbender spends more time narrating than actually acting. Plus, nothing really happens. The film lacks any real emotion. Sure, it's technically proficient — coldly proficient, in fact —but that's about it. (13/11/2023)

Perhaps Fincher's most meditative film to date, the music calmly throbs throughout, like Fassbender's assassin at the beginning, patiently waiting for his shot, mindful of his heartbeat and, like almost the entire film, going nowhere, repeating to himself with obsessive care, "Stick to the plan.... don't improvise." And that's exactly what Fincher does, thoughtfully, with the precision of a Swiss watchmaker, layering one carefully composed scene after another, and seemingly, unwittingly, imprinting himself on Fassbender's character as well. Early on, after a botched murder, the man in question thinks "Fuck, this is the first time" and I could see Fincher having similar thoughts flying through his head after the mixed reception of Mank. And it's as if they were both chasing perfection, where failure is unforgivable. Something was missing in the rating and Fincher was not to blame. Perhaps I was expecting something more thought-provoking from Walker's script (8MM remains unbeaten), perhaps a better ending and not the shallow point at the end, including the few idyllic shots that are really flat. Anyway, precise Fincher ..... precise Fincher is back!, just the way we like it. Only that Andrew K. Walker guy picked a weaker moment. (10/11/2023)