Review of The Killing (1956) by Brandon C — 30 May 2011

"The Killing" is the film that got Stanley Kubrick famous and his career under way. It's the film that in my opinion, set a benchmark for crime films that followed. If ever there was a movie that nowadays crime movies would look back at for their soul inspiration, this would be the one. "The Killing" is a neatly filmed, well executed film that is about Sterling Hayden's character(Johnny) and his last score to rob a race track before splitting town with his girlfriend. Well, of course we all know crime doesn't pay. So Kubrick presents the film in a nonlinear way, back-tracking and going back over certain portions of the heist, to get the full view and so you know just what criminal plays what part in the caper. This concept of being "non chronological" I feel is a style used a lot in films these days, notably "Pulp Fiction," and seemed to have begun with this one film. It's a great style to use and by back-tracking we get the scoop on every inch of detail Kubrick throws in there. Whether that be Hayden's character simply grabbing the money due to the distraction in the tracks, or the distraction on the tracks being depicted as a guy shooting a horse in a nearby parking lot. And everything just sort of comes together nicely.

Johnny assembles a team of 7 thugs who all put their heads together to take approximately 2 million from the race track's safe. Little do either of the thugs know, one of the impish and feeble assailants of the crew squeals to his wife and she ends up taking matters into her own hands with her boyfriend--to take the money for themselves. Naturally, EVERYTHING goes wrong. From a lone horse-shoe getting lodged in a getaway car's tire, to a simple gangster who's had one too many drinks. Johnny gets the money himself wearing a signature clown mask (almost reminiscent to the one the Joker wears in "The Dark Knight") but by the end everything is literally "blown" out of proportion.

It all happens in a classic "Noir" style, and the ending is truly magnificent when you consider all the obstacles that got dodged or the ones that served as bait that the criminals went for. Films like "The Killing" that follow in that always fun to watch worse-case-scenario situation have been followed up in such films like "The Town," "The Departed," or "Fargo." I think all those films have credit to pay to "The Killing" for starting such a popular style of heist films. Also, the frustration we see in each character's guilty face is a common criminal trait seen in crime movies like "Reservoir Dogs," and how when all goes wrong everyone is at each other's throats or pointing fingers.

"The Killing" is an intense movie for 1956, and is truly outstanding among some of the more older crime movies like "The Petrified Forest," or "Dillinger." It shows that as long as Kubrick has been around, he's never had a "bad" movie. At least, I fail to see a Kubrick film that disappoints.