By: debbie lynn elias
In what is undoubtedly the most unforgettable performance of Sir Ben Kingsley’s illustrious career and without a doubt, the best we ever seen from Tea Leoni, director John Dahl has crafted an eclectic, quirky, wacky and hilarious black comedy that is an absolute killer – YOU KILL ME. And trust me, Dahl does – with laughter.
Frank Falencyzk is a Polish hitman in Buffalo, New York. Known as the best in the business and one who takes great pride in the efficiency of his work, Frank has developed a little problem. Well, actually a big problem. It seems that Frank suffers from a little elbow trouble. You know the kind – where the elbow keeps tipping up to the mouth holding a bottle of alcohol. And sad to say, Frank’s drunkenness is affecting his ability to perform his job, much to the chagrin of Roman Krzeminksi, Polish Mafia leader and Frank’s uncle. Trying to overlook Frank’s shortcomings and believing in his nephew, Roman gives Frank one more chance to redeem himself and stay in the family business – take out Irish leader Edward O’Leary. Seems there’s a little territorial warfare going on and O’Leary is trying to broker a deal with the Chinese. Take him out and the deal doesn’t go down leaving everything wide open for the Poles. But unfortunately for Frank, he literally falls asleep on the job in a drunken stupor.
At his wit’s end, Roman orders Frank to San Francisco to sober up. And certain that Frank will need a little help, he has an” associate” named Dave hook him up with an apartment, a job and AA meetings. And Dave, seeing irony in everything and always looking for an angle, gets Frank set up with the most appropriate job in the world – a mortician in a funeral home. Doesn’t hurt Dave any to have connections there either, being that he’s a real estate agent and can latch onto some prime properties when people kick the bucket. But finding an apartment and getting Frank a job are the least of Dave’s problems. It’s getting Frank to AA that proves next to impossible.
Frank does ultimately go but keeping him going takes a little help from established AA member Tom, and Frank’s attraction to a beautiful hard nosed and wryly humorous young woman named Laurel Pearson whom he befriends at the funeral home while preparing her stepfather for burial. And lucky for Frank, she is attracted to him.
Realizing for the first time in his life that there is more to booze and bullets, Frank starts on a new path. He sees AA as helping him become a better, more focused hitman. And he has a new relationship in which he mandates total honesty. No secrets. None. So, after a couple of stumbles, with his hat in his hand, Frank tells Laurel about his true profession. Fascinated, she begs to not only know more, but also to learn how to be a successful hitman herself. And to satisfy his no secrets policy, Frank tells Tom and ultimately, with dead pan pitch perfect delivery, his entire AA group.
Looks like an idyllic life, doesn’t it? The happy couple, throwing knives, sharing target practice, picking out matching guns, just waiting for Frank’s new assignments from Roman – or not. Isn’t it romantic? A group of new friends embracing him, and not only not condemning him, but listening to his every word with rapt attention. Wow, life is good and a heckuva lot better than waking up face down in a snow bank with a empty bottle of what was chilled cheap vodka lying next to you. But then, sometimes it all goes to hell and a handbasket.
Getting word that O’Leary has ousted and, er, eliminated Roman, Frank knows what he must do. With a list of Buffalo AA meetings in his pocket, a newfound sobriety and confidence with his work skills, Frank leaves San Francisco and Laurel and sets off to seek revenge against O’Leary. And Laurel, desperately in love and not ready to let her man go. . . . Well, check out the film to see what happens next!
Sir Ben Kingsley is at the top of his game as Frank. As if wearing a silencer himself, he is a man of little words and allows a dry deadpan soft-spoken delivery to dominate every scene. Kingsley’s very physical presence as Frank is at times laugh out loud funny in and of itself. Undoubtedly the quirkiest role of his career, it is also one of his best. And as for Tea Leoni, as I said, this is the best performance of her career – and this coming from the critic that said the only thing she was good for in “Jurassic Park III” was screaming. She has won me over as to the needy, persnickety, often obnoxious and always wryly funny, Laurel. A longtime fave of mine, Dennis Farina hits his mark as Irish mob boss Edward O’Leary while Phillip Baker Hall is solid as Polish mobster Roman Krzeminski, a man worried not only about honor, but about keeping his snow plow business up and running. And a face that we are seeing more and more of late, Luke Wilson, gives a strong quiet turn as Frank’s first real friend and AA sponsor, the supportive Tom. It never take much from Wilson to make a positive impact on a film or a character and here is no different. His very look is one of kindness and supportiveness and very “best friend” which is perfect for Tom. And Bill Pullman surprised the heck out of me as the slightly bizarre Dave. He is a riot. With disheveled hair and clothes that look like polyester rejects from the 70’s, he evokes laughter just be appearing in a scene.
Written by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, the script is tight and quite ingenious. There is no wasted or superfluous dialogue. They find the humor in the situations and characters they have created, never over-inflating them, and never missing an opportunity to make the most of the skewed hilarity of it all.
Director John Dahl, known for unconventionality and perhaps and little “walk on the wildside” every now again with the films he directs, first caught my eye in 2005 with “The Great Raid”, one of the finest depictions of a true event from WWII (liberation of 500 American soldiers from the Japanese POW camp in Cabanatuan). Dahl has an uncanny ability to feature a character’s or an actor’s strengths with such a subtle fluidity that as a viewer you soon find yourself immersed to such a degree so as to believe the events are happening in your home. He was the perfect choice to direct this film which relies so heavily on nuanced tells and character. He has put together a well crafted, well thought out film punctuated with detail and emotion, all emanating from the comedic darkness of the script.
Veteran cinematographer Jeff Jur brings a polished look to the film with a careful balance of some denatured darkness and the vivid clarity of an early spring day with pristine snow melting. A nice play of lights and shadows enhances the storyline and parallels Frank’s growth and change. And Scott Chestnut, John Dahl’s right hand editor on so many films, has the same precision with his cut and splice as a sober Frank Falencyzk.
Devilishly delicious and drop dead funny, YOU KILL ME – – – it’s a killer!
Ben Kingsley – Frank Falencyzk
Tea Leoni – Laurel Pearson
Edward O’Leary – Dennis Farina
Roman Klrzeminski – Phillip Baker Hall
Tom – Luke Wilson
Directed by John Dahl. Written by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely. Rated R. (92 min)
