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You Kill Me (2007) DVD Review
You Kill Me (2007) DVD Credits:
You Kill Me (2007) Directed by:
John Dahl
You Kill Me (2007) Written by:
Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely
You Kill Me (2007) Cast:
Ben Kingsley, Téa Leoni, Luke Wilson, Dennis Farina, Philip Baker Hall, Bill Pullman, Marcus Thomas
You Kill Me (2007) Released by:
Code Entertainment
Region:
1
You Kill Me (2007) DVD Release Date:
8th October 2007
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You Kill Me (2007) Synopsis:

Frank, a hit-man from Buffalo (Kingsley) whose drinking is getting in the way of his killing. He's sent to the west coast to dry out where he lands a job at a mortuary and meets Laurel (Leoni), smart-talking and dangerously devoid of boundaries.

You Kill Me (2007) DVD Review:

Ben Kingsley has played such a variety of roles, each new one is like unwrapping a present from Santa on Christmas morning. He takes such a dramatically different approach to each of his characters, even the ones seemingly connected, so that they each feel complete and real. Whether he is playing Gandhi or a mob hit man Kingsley somehow grounds the characters in reality and it is easy to forget he is acting. You Kill Me places the knighted actor back into the familiar role of a gangster, but with a comedic element not seen often enough from him. He gives an incredible deadpan performance as an alcoholic hit-man sent to clean up his act in order to kill better. Kingsley speaks in a low and rough accent with the harsh vocabulary of a man who has no need for education as a skillful killer.

Ben Kingsley is Frank, a hired gun for a crime family in New York, but he has had some issues with his mood that make him unreliable. Just as motivation to shovel the snow during the harsh winters in Buffalo Frank takes a bottle of vodka outside and tosses it a few feet ahead of his path in the snow. Every couple of feet is another excuse for a drink. The depression and heavy drinking might be reason enough for Frank’s removal from the family, and when he passes out during an important hit there is no question that he has to answer for himself. Fortunately for Frank, he happens to be a blood relative of the crime family boss and for that reason Frank is sent to sunny California in an effort to clean up. Bright and cheerful San Francisco is a polar opposite setting for Frank to try and sober up, but as sunny as the weather might be it does nothing for Frank’s demeanor. Now instead of mysterious phone calls telling him who to kill he is given instructions in this familiar and mysterious way in order to get him to go to rehab meetings. Anonymity is exactly what Frank is used to and would appreciate, but within the meeting this far from expected and Frank is unable to sit in the back long without becoming noticeable. The entire experience of people sharing their feelings seems to make Frank extremely uncomfortable, though when he attempts to leave he finds that his mob friends have attached a shadow to him as well. Played rather effectively by a bumbling Bill Pullman, Dave is a real estate agent who also works for the family and has been given the job to report Frank’s unwillingness to sober up. Knowing he is cornered Frank is forced to make an effort to actually sober up.

Even with Frank’s unwillingness to cheer up, he begrudgingly holds his job at a funeral home and attends his rehab meetings. Somehow his antisocial behavior doesn’t detract the friendly advances of the people around him, including Tom (Luke Wilson), a fellow alcoholic who even seems to have fun with Frank’s east coast attitude. Eventually Tom becomes Frank’s sponsor and he starts working on becoming sober, but this proves to be only half the battle. The twelve step program starts bringing all sorts of issues to the surface and when he meets a woman (Téa Leoni) he decides full disclosure with everyone is best. Honest about wanting to stop drinking in order to begin killing again, Frank gets his life back on track with his sponsor and new girlfriend’s help. Little does he know that in his absence in Buffalo his family has begun to have serious problems with the Irish competition who have realized the muscle is gone.

The DVD includes a commentary track with director John Dahl and writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely along with a behind-the-scenes featurette. The featurette about the visual effects is most alarming considering how simple the story is, but apparently many CGI effects were needed for the film, whether adding snow or other minor details which ultimately add to the film.

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You Kill Me (2007) DVD review written by: Ryan Izay

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