Despite the slight novelty of some of its performances, the movie never rises above anything more than the sum of its fractured parts.
You Kill Me (2007)
Tomatometer
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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
Along with the splendid principals, [the secondary cast] round out an extraordinarily accomplished ensemble.
Ben Kingsley takes it easy and gives Leoni and Wilson a chance to shine in this easy-going gangster comedy about friends and killers.
An unsatisfying compromise flick on the fence which might have worked had it either been played straight or purely for laughs.
The story’s grasping, eager-to-displease setup never establishes enough depth to be fully engaging, let alone metaphorically significant -- and why else make a movie about a psychotic kicking hooch in order to be a better killer?
These filmmakers boast a tactile command of lower-case depression humor. And Kingsley and Leoni master it with rare cool glee.
Director John Dahl keeps a firm hand on Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely's razor-sharp hit-man-in-rehab comedy.
For an hour and a half it exerts its own preposterous reality, making you believe it -- and like it.
In the moment, You Kill Me is never less than mildly entertaining, and it's almost never more than that.
Dahl, greatly assisted by the eye-catching work of vet cinematographer Jeffrey Jur, has crafted a stylish-looking piece but, unfortunately, can't keep up the movie's initial spirited pace.
Eventually it's just too much of a bad thing -- and only leaves you wondering why you began it at all.
You Kill Me really belongs to Kingsley, whose character's deadpan reactions to his new environment are priceless. He really kills.
John Dahl returns to the quirky black-comedy genre where he began his career in the late '80s. It's good to have him back there.
Dahl's strengths are rock-bottom irony, sleazy suspense and deadly surprises.
In this summer of bloody blockbusters, it's refreshing to see a mobster movie where the small pleasures outnumber the body count.
Who knew there was such a high burnout rate in hit men? And who knew they suffered from so many varieties of treatable neuroses? And who knew they were such amusing guys?
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October 09, 2007:
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June 21, 2007:
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May 12, 2007:
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