A dryly funny and demented film featuring the most likable hit man you'd ever want to meet.
You Kill Me (2007)
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Reviews Counted:110
Fresh:86
Rotten:24
Average Rating:6.6/10
Consensus: Featuring wonderful performances from Ben Kingsley and Tea Leoni, You Kill Me is a charming, funny take on the familiar inner-lives-of-hit-men premise.
Theatrical Release:Jun 22, 2007 Limited
Box Office: $2,311,434
Synopsis: Cinematic hit men are dual-edged characters who can easily slip into the role of hero or villain, making them an attractive proposition for directors looking to pack an emotional punch. YOU KILL ME... Cinematic hit men are dual-edged characters who can easily slip into the role of hero or villain, making them an attractive proposition for directors looking to pack an emotional punch. YOU KILL ME stars Ben Kingsley (SEXY BEAST) as Frank Falenczyk, a hit man whose work for the Buffalo-based Mafia has been hampered by his hopeless alcoholism. Director John Dahl (THE LAST SEDUCTION) sends his lead character off to San Francisco where Alcoholics Anonymous awaits, as does Dave (Bill Pullman), who helps Frank get an apartment and a job in a mortuary. The job introduces Frank to Laurel (Téa Leoni), whom he begins a relationship with while occasionally falling off the wagon and attending AA meetings. Luke Wilson makes an appearance as a fellow alcoholic who mentors Frank through the program. YOU KILL ME is a wonderful return to form for Dahl, who has struggled to build on his early, noir-inflected career. Kingsley is as reliable as ever in the central role, and he demonstrates an impressive array of emotions as the film progresses. Credit is also due to co-screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely who deliver a tight and hugely enjoyable plot while also adding generous doses of dark humor throughout. Intelligent and fun, YOU KILL ME is likely to gain a strong word-of-mouth reputation as viewers are lured into its fold. [More]
Starring: Ben Kingsley, Téa Leoni, Luke Wilson, Dennis Farina
Starring: Ben Kingsley, Téa Leoni, Luke Wilson, Dennis Farina, Bill Pullman
Director: John Dahl
Director: John Dahl
Screenwriter: Stephen McFeely, Christopher Markus
Producer: Carol Baum, Al Corley
Studio: IFC Films
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Reviews for You Kill Me
Not a masterpiece, mind you, nor the funniest thing you could see on a lazy summer afternoon; but a fine motion picture.
One of those self-consciously quirky indie films that will strike some as comic genius while leaving the rest of the audience scratching their head.
Were it not for a couple of overbroad scenes and a few flat notes of forced wackiness ... might have been one of the year's more subtle pleasures, a bittersweet snapshot akin to Jarmusch's Broken Flowers
Ultimately the movie stands as a testament to grownup love, the kind where all faults are exposed and dealt with, one day at a time.
One of those rare occasions where going too low-key means missing many comic possibilities.
These filmmakers boast a tactile command of lower-case depression humor. And Kingsley and Leoni master it with rare cool glee.
The film isn't without its flaws, but in defying Hollywood convention, it manages to reach parts other comedies cannot reach.
It's a predictable but acridly pleasant 12-step bonbon: self-help noir.
Leave it to John Dahl to helm a movie in which swearing off booze is more laudable than forsaking your job as a hit man.
When Frank stands up at a meeting and confesses that he wants to kick the bottle so he can devote himself more fully to killing people, "You Kill Me" achieves a perfect black-comic pitch.
A great cast and a great script make this a surprising recommendation as a first date movie.
You can pinpoint the exact moment You Kill Me descends permanently into idiocy.
This crime comedy has such a goofy script and such an eccentric cast that it kept me curious about what would happen next.
No offense to Sir Ben, who does a mean deadpan, but his performance here is frequently more dead than pan -- which, given the material, was probably the wisest acting choice.
When Leoni's character learns what Frank does for a living, her look of puzzlement is marvelously subtle. You Kill Me has a lot of little moments like that.
It calls for more suspension of disbelief than suds in Frank's beer stein, but if you can join him on that barstool, the payoff is a brand of hilarity that could keep you in stitches. It's killer.
After an unsuccessful bid at respectability with his tepid war film... director John Dahl returns to what he does best: amusingly vicious little films noir.
Doesn't quite plum the depths of Gigli, but it's clearly cut from the same cloth ... flat and barely entertaining.
Latest News for You Kill Me
October 09, 2007:
RT on DVD: 28 Weeks Later, Reign Over Me, and Surf's Up!
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June 21, 2007:
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May 12, 2007:
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