YOU KILL ME scripting included a great first impression of the protagonist. Sir Ben Kingsley considers the character's introduction critical. In You Kill Me the first look: an older man coming out of a nice little home, probably his own, an unusual looking man, tall, slender, dressed in black, from boots to knit cap, carrying a snow shovel in one hand and a bottle of vodka in the other, which is tilted high, chug-a-lug style, a serious drinker. He re-caped the bottle and tossed it ahead into the two feet of snow flanking his front walkway. He started shoveling towards it, took a swig as a reward, tossed it further—incentive to shovel the walk.

Watching You Kill Me was a totally satisfying screening experience. Very off beat, yes, quirky, yes, but utterly enjoyable. Attempts of drinking alcoholics to transition to a non-drinking alcoholic seldom get such a positive spin from Hollywood. This positive portrayal of someone drying out gives the story its value.


Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely (Chronicles of Narnia) wrote this sparkling, insightful screenplay with crisp dialogue requiring actors who have mastered timing and deadpan delivery of lines. John Dahl (Kill Me Again, Red Rock West) contributed a dark panache to offset the stylishness of the script and comedic undertones of the relationships. Téa Leoni, demonstrated comedic skill in her portrayal of a professional woman, somewhat bored with life, highly successful at eliminating resistance from enough advertising clients to earn her top TV ad salesperson in the Bay Area—no small feat. Luke Wilson was a delightful addition, as a low-key AA sponsor. Dennis Farina visits again in the same role he usually gets in a mob-related film, he shouldn't do such a good job. It was a pleasure to see veteran actor, Philip Baker Hall, who portrayed the patriarch of a dysfunctional Buffalo family business. Bill Pullman was the actor with the most difficult bit part, as he is nearly unrecognizable.


You Kill Me was bold, funny and endearing. Yes, AA meetings and all. Kingsley was Frank Falenczyk, a career contract killer for his family, in Buffalo, New York. As Frank observes in one of the AA meetings, he "didn't know he was a drunk…he lived in Buffalo." Neither did his family, even as his 'jobs' got sloppier. Grudgingly, they must face the fact he is a drinking alcoholic.


Frank, after a half-dozen or so botched jobs, fails utterly to perform an important assassination. His family simply didn't know much of Frank beyond his security contributions to the family business. When that security was in jeopardy, they put together a basic plan for him to go 'dry out' in, of all places, soggy San Francisco. A decision to send him to rehab was made by the family patriarch, his uncle Roman (Hall). Due to this ultimatum, completely loving, but firm, Frank is shipped off to Dave (Pullman), who hooked him up with an apartment, a part-time job as a mortician's assistant, and the AA meeting location to which Frank was to go…or else.


Frank showed a real flair for mortician's work. He's "fine with dead bodies" and earned favorable attention for his attractively laid out viewings. Enter Laurel (Téa Leoni), whose mother sent her on a strange errand to the funeral home, where Frank was working on her stepfather's body. Laurel attracted Frank's attention. The viewing for Laurel's stepfather was a few days later. Frank, in a suit for the 'public' part of his job, was at the viewing. He followed her to her car, where an amusing interaction furthered their seemingly unlikely relationship. Laurel noticed Frank cleaned up nicely, was earnest in his expressed interest. You watched her make the decision, on a whim, to try the possibility of a relationship—over coffee.


Their character paths joined, and the story began again. This story was of him and her, the blending of people, as surprising as how recipes turn out. Laurel, an ad exec, says it all, when telling him of her wall plaque for 'best' television ad salesperson in the Bay Area, "No means nothing to me…they had to give me the award." She probably pulled one or two knives out of her back, maybe even tossed a couple. She was focused, expert and bored, in a comfortable sort of way. She was scripted as single, needing distraction. That's all I required to know about her. I didn't want 'back story.' She wanted to know Frank—for now. She's more like Frank than anyone realized. Both are reserved, competent in their careers, worldly and yet still amused with life. Laurel, overcame the shock of Frank's revelations. She assimilated his straightforward viewpoints of his job protecting the family business. She began to believe his statements of how he felt about her.


You Kill Me spares us further details. On the other hand, people—us—we are interested in contract killing. It's like, a commonality. Most people want to know specifics about the 'job' of assassinating someone. Of course, Laurel was intrigued enough to ask Frank how he did his job. Frank obliges with some basic 'moves' and instruction, which came in handy later in the story.

This special ensemble cast engaged me all the way to the end of the story.

Column rating: See?
Absolutely, the message of people, no matter who they are, re-capturing themselves from a life of addictive behaviour is really strong, even if you cannot return to your old life, at least you have a life as a non-drinking alcoholic.

See With Your Children?
This film may seem to romanticize killing and contract killers, much like Bruce Willis' lighter comedy, so may not be appropriate for children to see, certainly without discussion on these subjects