You Kill Me (2007)

"A dryly funny and demented film featuring the most likable hit man you'd ever want to meet.  John Wirt, Advocate
"An instant classic! You'll DIE laughing!  Scott Mantz, Access Hollywood

Editor's Note Cinematic hit men are dual-edged characters who can easily slip into the role of hero or villain, making them an attractive proposition for directors looking to pack an emotional punch. YOU KILL ME stars Ben Kingsley (SEXY BEAST) as Frank Falenczyk, a hit man whose work for the Buffalo-based Mafia has been hampered by his hopeless alcoholism. Director John Dahl (THE LAST SEDUCTION) sends his lead character off to San Francisco where Alcoholics Anonymous awaits, as does Dave (Bill Pullman), who helps Frank get an apartment and a job in a mortuary. The job introduces Frank to Laurel (Téa Leoni), whom he begins a relationship with while occasionally falling off the wagon and attending AA meetings. Luke Wilson makes an appearance as a fellow alcoholic who mentors Frank through the program. YOU KILL ME is a wonderful return to form for Dahl, who has struggled to build on his early, noir-inflected career. Kingsley is as reliable as ever in the central role, and he demonstrates an impressive array of emotions as the film progresses. Credit is also due to co-screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely who deliver a tight and hugely enjoyable plot while also adding generous doses of dark humor throughout. Intelligent and fun, YOU KILL ME is likely to gain a strong word-of-mouth reputation as viewers are lured into its fold.

	Ben Kingsley
	Bill Pullman
	Dennis Farina
	Jayne Eastwood
	Luke Wilson
	Marcus Thomas
	Philip Baker Hall
	Tea Leoni
	Bart Rosenblatt - Producer
	Christopher Markus - Writer
	Jeff Jur - Cinematographer
	John Dahl - Director
	John Dondertman - Production Designer
	Jonathan Dana - Executive Producer
	Marcelo Zarvos - Original Music By
	Scott Chestnut - Editor
	Stephen McFeely - Writer

USA Today
3 stars out of 5 -- "[Dahl] manages to get restrained performances from his stars here, particularly Kingsley and Leoni....Leoni gives her best performance since 1996's FLIRTING WITH DISASTER." 06/22/2007 p.6D

New York Times
"[T]he chromatically reduced palette nicely echoes the stark inner and outer worlds of Mr. Kingsley's character, Frank Falenczyk..." 06/22/2007 p.E10

Box Office
"Leoni displays her comic acumen in a noir setting...[and] Kingsley brilliantly limns a sympathetic variation on the Mephistophelean persona he nailed in SEXY BEAST." 06/22/2007 p.64-65

Total Film
3 stars out of 5 -- "[I]t's eccentric and funny....[Kingsley's] sparky relationship with a deliciously tart Leoni is priceless." 01/01/2008 p.54

Uncut
4 stars out of 5 -- "The direction from THE LAST SEDUCTION's John Dahl is perfectly deadpan, fully exploiting a crafty, clever script." 01/01/2008 p.127

Sight and Sound
"Dahl keeps the pacing brisk....He also encourages some fine performances from his talented cast. Kingsley shows a deft comic touch..." 02/01/2008 p.89

Reel.com 7 of 10
A lot of talented actors come together in the gangster comedy You Kill Me, but they're so underused it's, well, criminal. Even the incomparable Ben Kingsley, who stars as Frank Falenczyk, an alcoholic hit man for Buffalo's Polish mob sent by his angry boss (Philip Baker Hall) to dry out in San Francisco, never seems quite sure how to play his quirky role. On the other hand, maybe it's just the part itself, as written by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, which feels inconsistent and unsatisfying. It's another case of plopping an audience into someone's very screwed up life without much explanation as to how he got there. In a post-Tony Soprano world, we're used to our gangsters having more specific psychological underpinnings than the what-you-see-is-what-you-get Frank. Though, in many ways, Frank is more down to earth than most parts Kingsley usually plays, the 60-ish actor may just be too mature--and too innately wise--to be fully convincing; it's a sympathetic performance, but he's ultimately miscast...Better cast, but even less dimensional, is co-star Tea Leoni as Laurel, an attractive woman Frank meets at the funeral home where he works as part of his rehab...The considerable age difference between the two doesn't help either. - Gary Goldstein