The Killer Inside Me

Casey Affleck (Ben Affleck's younger brother) delivers a stunning performance as a psychopathic deputy sheriff; when his charming and well mannered guy appearance disappears the audience's shown violence both "ordinary" and of sexual kind. There's absolutely nothing voyeuristic in these scenes, difficult to see though they might be, on the contrary they're the moments where the movie really gets to make an impact on the viewers. The narrative's very gripping and Winterbottom's story manages to strongly connect on an emotional level. All the characters appear to have a "proximity" to the audience. On the whole the film always makes a strong impact and keeps the noir atmosphere required, furthermore its ability to shock is the key for being truthful and compelling.

Cant help expecting more.....

The good things -

Casey Affleck and the character of Lou Ford as the baby faced psycho who thinks he is smart but isn't as clever as he believes Plausible violence - It wasn't good to watch but the situations felt real. I am still not convinced it was so necessary to have so much as you can get the point fairly quickly and then it just starts eating up film time which you could probably use better doing other things.

The bad things The ending - was stupid on so many levels. If by some chance it wasn't in his imagination then what are the chances that so many people have no sense of smell... Would have been much better to finish the film 10 minutes earlier. Dialogue. Maybe its just me and maybe it was the cinema but I just didn't catch what was being said a lot of the time. The Elias Koteas character in particular was hard to understand, and with so many little clues and pointers to whats happening and the different relationships its frustrating when you start missing things

The film as a whole felt incoherent, and I cant help thinking that there are much better films covering the same sort of area

Greetings again from the darkness. The film is based upon the work of crime novelist Jim Thompson, who is quite famous as a writer and whose works have often been translated to film. This time oft-creepy director Michael Winterbottom is in charge and comes pretty close to creating a masterpiece. Unfortunately, the bits that fall short, very nearly ruin the film.

Psychological crime thrillers can be the most fascinating genre (see Inception), but only when the lead psycho is relatable in some sense and the story is complete. Here, Casey Affleck gives an outstanding performance as the dude you don't want your daughter to date. There is a deep darkness hidden behind his aw-shucks facade of innocence and cutesy west Texas drawl.

The violence is expected, yet still shocking, when it first rears its head on poor Jessica Alba. We feel the first punch. What happens in this first encounter catches us off-guard and leaves us wanting to know more background on Affleck's character. Instead, we are really only spectators in his plan of violence that seems to have no real goal. Think Natural Born Killers. Heck, even Ted Bundy had a real plan!

The creepiness factor is upped a bit since most everyone associated with the crimes seems to suspect Affleck's character, but no one knows what to do or how to stop him. Elias Koteas and Simon Baker (miscast) are two who try. Personally I wanted more of the Koteas character as well as Ned Beatty, who plays a powerful developer against whom Affleck holds a grudge.

Bill Pullman is tossed in near the end to help wrap things up, but mostly the ending is as unsatisfying as the rest of the story. It is uncomfortable to watch Affleck's character, so devoid of morals and empty of soul, but it feels wasted on a small town deputy sheriff with no vision. Maybe that's not such a bad thing ... but it makes for a much weaker film.

This film was disturbing as hell! It'll make anybody who has a soul feel sick and the ending will make you mad for it's implausibility.

I wish I had never saw it.

Having read the novel by Jim Thompson, I think I can safely say that The Killer Inside Me sets a certain challenge for director Michael Winterbottom, or for that matter a challenge for anyone who wants to adapt it for the screen. It is a story that takes us deep into the mind of a Texas psychopath. Getting inside peoples heads is so much easier on pages than on screen. Winterbottom gives it a game shot, but doesn't quite manage to capture the book's depth and scope. The occasional use of narration (using segments from the book) or flashback, only helps a bit. Anyone who has not read the Thompson will find this movie somewhat hard to follow.

It's worth noting I guess that the movie is a noble adaptation, but for some odd reason, the plot is more convoluted in film format. There is a certain lack of explanation, and this is the film's biggest weakness. That does NOT mean however, that is isn't worth seeing.

As a dramatic thriller, The Killer Inside Me is effective. It is gritty, and grim, with good performances, nicely composed montages, and Winterbottom captures the essence of 1950's Texas fairly well. There is something kind of warm and communal about the town of Central City, the grass is green and the sun is always shining. Ignoring the fact that there is a psycho in the local law enforcement, which is discouraging, this is the kind of place where one might fancy a summer home. The movie comes with an ending that is absolutely devastating (despite being a bit rushy). Overall, Winterbottom makes mostly good decisions, but also a few not so good ones. He throws in country music jingles in places that are quite unnecessary.

I think I can recommend the film, but not without warning. It's tricky, and it needs a bit of a tune up. It's still an evocative drama though, which packs a dirty punch, and leaves you thinking.