Review of The Killing (1956) by Rainer K — 31 Aug 2012

Well, well, well.

The Killing instantly takes over my number three favourite Stanley Kubrick film spot only behind the unreachable 2001: A Space Odyssey and A Clockwork Orange.

It's an easy formula good ol' Stan used for his first "real" film but he added some surprising elements that set it apart from similar types of movies.

The Killing is a heist movie in a time when this genre wasn't yet established. Back then, it'd count as noir I guess and there are certainly some noir elements in it. This cool genre mash-up (that actually wasn't) is perfect for my movie taste and from thereon Kubrick had an easy road pleasing me ahead of him.

He also included a clown mask (Michael Mann and Ben Affleck you copycats!!!) some really prolific black-and-white cinematography and a non-linear narrative (which is itself quite innovative for the era).

But the one thing that's the most memorable about this little flick is the mundane voice-over narration that sounds like some play-by-play commentary of a really boring baseball game but is quite essential for the pacing and the whole flow of the film.

I wouldn't wanna miss the narration by any means - it suits the film just perfect.

A straightforward, good-looking film despite the low budget. Unlike many other of Kubrick films the visuals doesn't stand out very much and that was the right choice for this type of film. Kubrick has a knack for visuals though (there is the one scene where they have their planning session in the half-dark - this is one of the finest lighted scenes I've ever seen) and he managed to provide a film that mostly relies on storytelling and a twisted script to be remembered for its visuals (at least by me).