The Killer Inside Me

British director Michael Winterbottom has never shied away from controversy, but in The Killer Inside Me he may have stirred up more than he can handle.

Telling the story of sociopathic lawman Lou Ford (Casey Affleck), The Killer Inside Me certainly provoked discussions when it premiered at Sundance, and they  all had one topic in common - the film's extraordinarily graphic  depiction of violence against women. Reports had it that star Jessica Alba walked out of the theater during the screening, although the fact that  she must have known what she was filming makes it hard to read her  actions as a protest.

So is the violence in The Killer Inside Me justified, or just another example of moviemakers glorifying blood and gore?

It's hard to answer that question fairly without first considering the  film's plot, so we'd better get that out of the way. Based on a  decidedly unsettling novel by Jim Thompson, The Killer Inside Me is a Coen Brothers-esque portrayal of spiraling misdeeds and noirish crime sprees (there's a hint of David Lynch too, largely thanks to a startling cameo by Bill Pullman).

Lou Ford (Casey) is a rather cold and distant Deputy Sheriff in a small  Texas town,who's sent to run prostitute Joyce Lakeland (Alba) out of  their God-fearing community. Except Lou has a hidden dark side, largely  thanks to his unconventional and potentially abusive upbringing - and  when he meets Joyce she unlocks something within him. Together they cook  up a plan to scam money from local land baron Chester Conway (Ned Beatty), using his son's infatuation with Joyce as a blackmailing tool.

Only Lou has his own plan - and it doesn't end happily for either Joyce or Conway's son.

The murder of Conway Jr. and Lou's assault on Joyce are only the  beginning of the story, however, as Lou spirals further and further out  of control in his attempts to cover his tracks. His girlfriend Amy (Kate Hudson)  soon becomes a stand-in for Joyce in his fantasies, and it's only a  matter of time before he snaps again - assuming that attorney Howard  Hendricks (The Mentalist's Simon Baker) can't stop him first.

We've already seen Hollywood portray the out-of-control psycho many times over, but The Killer Inside Me sets itself apart with its emotional distance. Thompson's novel is told  from Lou Ford's point of view, and Winterbottom attempts to repeat the  trick here - Lou not only speaks directly to us in voiceover, but the  entire film is shot through with his emotionless, sociopathic viewpoint  on the world. Affleck's utter lack of conscience is one of the film's  undisputed highlights.

Of course, that doesn't make The Killer Inside Me easy viewing,  and many people will turn away from its graphic violence and amoral  viewpoint. But it does help turn it into one of the most insightful and  psychologically complex thrillers in recent memory.

As for the graphic violence against women, it really is hard to watch -  but surely that's the point. The sight of a man physically beating a  woman should be uncomfortable, and Winterbottom challenges  Hollywood's preference for slick, easily-digested blood and gore with  his frank and full-on look at the reality of abuse and murder. It may be  more fun to watch pretty coeds running from deranged-yet-charming  serial killers, but there's a strong argument that it's more socially  damaging than this kind of realism. Whatever else you say about  Winterbottom, you can't accuse him of glorifying violence.

All of this adds up to a smart, complex movie that will nonetheless  appall or disgust the majority of viewers, and unfortunately The Killer Inside Me will remain too heavy for most palates. Still, art doesn't always have to be a popularity contest.

4/5

Review:  Few things are worse than the feeling that you walk away from the movie knowing it could have been so much more.  Not that the experience was altogether unsatisfying, but there could be much more to it.  That was the feeling with "The Killer Inside Me" a flawed, if not well done pulp film noir.

The film dabbles in very illicit subject matter (prostitution, bribery, sexual abuse, physical abuse, what it's like to be a true sociopath), and does it with a sense of weight to it.  However, it is not the subject matter where this movie loses it way, rather, it is in the characters.

The film follows the main character Lou (Casey Affleck) as he goes through a series of events would be quite shocking to the average person, but are all taken in stride by Lou.  The movie opens with Lou being sent out to tell a prostitute who works outside of town to leave.  Lou goes out there to tell her to leave and ends up getting involved with the prostitute (Jessica Alba).  This sexually fueled relationship is no doubt spurred by instances of sexual abuse Lou was involved in as a child.  This relationship is complicated by the fact that a wealthy business owner in town's son is also involved with the prostitute and the plans between Lou and this prostitute set in motion a chain of events that will change Lou forever. 

The movie is a character study of how events in one's life can change and alter a person's perception of reality and blur the lines between right and wrong.  The strength of the movie lies in it's ability to show the ruthless personality of Lou as being born out of love.  Lou is a ferocious sociopath who knows not why he destroys everything and everyone he loves, but knows that he is compelled to do it.  I am not a psychologist so I cannot dissect Lou's mindset and neither can the filmmaker completely, which is where the movie unravels.  This movie will be very divisive for most people but one thing about the movie is clear, it is very well made and captures the film noir/pulp genre very well.  This movie is worth your time only if you're a fan of the genre and can take seeing some brutal and disturbing images on screen.