Sr. Morte

I watched this movie yesterday…

This movie came highly recommended by one of my friends and I was lucky to find it on DVD .

It is one of the best British movies I've come across at recent times.

It traces the life story of a hit man, who is working for a mobster. All the characters are complex.

All the actors (all were unfamiliar faces) have given brilliant performances.

The story revolves around our hit man, who one day comes across a woman on whom he had a crush long back.

He want to quit his profession an lead a normal life, but he realizes that he is caught in between two diverse worlds,

one of his mobster boss and other the normal one.

By the way the movie has achieved cult status in the lines of "Fight Club" (that's another awesome movie).

Jon is an ideal employee: neat, efficient and conscientious. The torture he inflicts is effective and the kills are swift. Mentored by his tattooed boss, the only thing asked of Jon is total quality. But something happens...and for the first time Jon let his emotions affect his work. Now the tables are turned as the boss and the hit-man face off in the most dangerous kind of business...The Killing Kind."

The main problem with this film was that I just couldn't get into it, it had great characters, a good story and twists that would all account for a great film. But it just missed that thing that makes films interesting. Maybe it was the "low-budget" aspect of the quality of film that made me dis-like the film, or maybe the fact that I thought it was going to be something totally different.

He isn't a hit-man that I would picture, he hardly ever uses a gun (which is showcased on the cover). He uses a pool cue and a fire poker among things. The dialouge does indeed suck, but that's British films for you (Save Shaun and Snatch). The fact of the matter is, this film tries to be something that it's not, which is SNATCH and LOCK STOCK, with a twist at the end that will shock some, but leave the others asking why.

There are some great characters here that could use a touch up here or there, other then that, this film is a disappointment. Skip it for a better British film, because there are many.

I purchased this flick as a insert to polish home video magazine with the strong cover recommendation. Never heard indeed about the Mr Sarossy and about the actors so it made me really curious but suspicious (british gangster movies are not my favorite especially made by overrated Mr Ritchie). But "Aniol Smierci (Angel of death)" (polish title) was a great surprise for me. For the long time I haven't seen so tense, disturbing and depressive movie. It shocks even with the rather low amount of gore on screen. My wife started to watch withe me but after 20 minutes she runs away saying "it won't be happy end". She has damned right. There was no happy anding but happy ending is impossible. Perfect evil can't be redeemed by the money and even love. Why Neil Jordan?? In some moments the film reminds me "Mona Lisa" and "Crying games". Why David Lynch?? Tattooed Man looked like he escapes from "Blue Velvet" or "Mulholland Dr". I've also in mind some movies of Kieslowski and - of course - "Leon" (comparing with the "Aniol smierci" a good-old-family-cinema)

My Advice: Ignore the 6/10 rating. Chances are you hadn't heard of this movie save by random chance, and perhaps you read the synopsis and your interest was piqued. If so watch this movie; it delivers in many ways, and if you are a fan of the genre (dark, ambient, crime, drama, with some philosophy thrown in), then you are in for a treat. I imagine the lower-than-deserved rating was due to people merely not liking the the genre or the ending.

Now I complain about the 6/10 and only give a 7/10. I understand that most people's ratings are different than mine. This film is good but not perfect...one I will recommend to friends and the fans of the genre(s), but with an addendum: It is a fairly slow movie, with not much major event happening. The movie is paced differently in that most popular movies follow a intro/rising action/climax/resolution pattern, this movie does not (really). Truly you won't really know what the point of the movie is until closer to the end, which for some will be a turnoff. I like that fact though especially because the writer/director does a great job of keeping you distracted with some good relationships, character development, and frankly good acting.

Give it a shot if you're getting tired of traditional Hollywood hogwash.

Jon (Andrew Howard) is a cold blood and very efficient assassin and torturer with no friends, who works to his mentor and protector, the sadistic Tattooed Man (David Calder). The murders of Jon are very clean and sophisticated, as if they were a work of art. When Jon meets his former school friend Andy (Andrew Thiernan) and his wife Cathy (Geraldine O'Rawe), his world becomes divided by life (with Andy and Cathy) and death (with Tattooed Man), and Jon becomes a conflicted man, living between good and evil in the in-between of these realities, and trying to redeem his soul.

"Mr. In-Between" is probably the greatest surprise of the year for me, a gem to be discovered by movie-lovers. This low-budget movie, if found by the viewers, certainly will become a cult-movie. The frightening and awesome story showing the personification of evil is spectacular, without any concessions to any characters. The battle between the good and the evil is amazing, and there are two specific scenes that impressed me a lot: the first one when Jon "saves" Cathy and her daughter from the Tattooed Man; and when the Father vomits in the church after hearing the confession of Jon, when he asked: "-Do you still love me, Father?". The direction is amazing, using magnificently the camera. Andrew Howard is one of the most scariest killers I have ever seen in films, and his cruelty is comparable to John Doe (Kevin Space) in "Seven". David Calder is perfect as the personification of the Devil, in a cruel and sadistic character. Sometimes, some friends of mine question me why I spend time watching B or C-movies, instead of only classics and famous movies. Movies like "Mr. In-Between" show that my procedure is correct, otherwise I would never find unknown jewels like this one. I am very impressed with this movie, scarier than most of the Hollywood horror movies, which I recommend to a very specific audience. My vote is nine.

Title (Brazil): "Sr. Morte" ("Mr. Death")

Note: On 03 April 2022, I saw this film again.