Femme Fatales and Dogs

I just noticed that I started this blog as a love letter to noir and horror and I haven't written anything on a film noir yet! Yep, I'm an idiot.

Well what can I say about The Killing that hasn't already been said before? This is Stanley Kubrick's third movie after Fear and Desire and Killer's Kiss and it's my personal favorite of his. My second being Dr. Strangelove, but you didn't ask about that so let's move on.

This movie is a typical film noir. Criminals, femme fatales and a bleak ending. Sterling Hayden, in another great performance, plays Johnny Clay. A career criminal who finds out about a perfect heist. A plan to steal all the money at a racetrack during one of the year's biggest races.

Hayden goes about rounding up the best team for the job. But like most noirs, each comes with some baggage. One being the shrill wife of a character played by Elisha Cook Jr. An actor who has to hold the record for playing the most losers in film noir history. I can't help but imagine if Cook was shit upon as much in real life like he was in these movies. With his team in place, Hayden goes about setting the plan in motion.

The mechanics of the heist are what constitutes most of the movie and they are so expertly staged and played out that you can't help but stare intently at how perfect it all is. Kubrick keeps the pace up while holding our rapt attention. But no plan is perfect, no matter how many times you look it over. And this plan is unraveled by that most unpredictable factor of most film noirs, human nature. All working it's way to one of my all time favorite endings. An ending that makes the title of this review very appropriate.

Check this movie out and witness the birth of one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. I first saw this movie on TCM when I was about 14 and I rewatch it every year or so. It's one of the first noirs I ever watched and it help kick start my obsession. I love this film so much and I hope whoever reads this decides to give it a shot.