Starring: Sterling Hayden, Coleen Gray, Vince Edwards, Jay C.Flippen, Ted de Corsia, Marie Windsor, Elisha Cook.
Director: Stanley Kubrick.
"The Killing" is very much about irony, as well as cause and effect. The story is fairly simple: a group of Men conspire to rob a horse race, making out with Two Million Dollars if successful. The plan mostly goes off without a hitch, but soon the robbers find themselves unprepared for the little things that pop up in the aftermath. Beyond that basic concept, the story wraps itself around smaller narratives surrounding the individual characters and their own stakes in the score, and their specific weaknesses.
This multi-narrative structure is easily "The Killings" best feature. In many ways, it's considerably ahead of its time in terms of structure and presentation, though it has its drawbacks (cinema hadn't figured out how to handle multi-narrative yet, so a grating and matter-of-fact voiceover is utilized to keep track of all the action), but the way Kubrick keeps the story grounded while maintaining layers if pretty remarkable: never does the film spiral out of control or become confusing, even if the action does. However, as is the wont of multi-narrative films, not all narratives are created equal: some of these guys are not as nearly as interesting as the others.
For instance, ringleader Johnny Clay (Sterling Hayden) probably gets the most screen time, and while his manipulation of events specifically drives the action, the guy just isn't super interesting. In many ways, he's a Mary Sue: we meet him being fawned over by his Girlfriend (who constantly goes on and on about how she "isn't pretty or smart" and that Johnny is everything to her-and we'll talk about that), the other men instantly respect and admire him, and in the end he isn't foiled by any specific character flaw, simply due to crazy random happenstance.
By contrast, the hapless and easily-manipulated George (Elisha Cook Jr) is a wonderfully drawn character: desperate to please his bored and disinterested Wife Sherry (Marie Windsor, who gives a wonderfully malevolent and sleazy performance), he quickly finds himself twisted up in any number of dilemmas. As Sherry masterfully wraps him around her finger, George finds himself more and more paranoid and desperate, ultimately driving the films explosive and shocking climax.
While Sherry is a well acted role, however, she and her only other Female co-star, the aforementioned Girlfriend of Johnny, illustrates a key difficulty in watching this film in 2016: attitudes towards Women have changed a lot. Johnny's Girlfriend constantly berates herself and is basically just another bag for Johnny to carry. Sherry is the plot contrivance that ruins everything: her greed is what ultimately causes the tragic climax to carry itself out, and it's fairly clear that George is her victim, not a victim of himself. While you could make an argument for "well, 1959 was a different time," it doesn't change the fact that this sort of misogyny stands out today. However, there is a scene that deals with racism in a particularly heartfelt way: gunman Nicky Arcane is tasked with shooting one of the horses in the race in order to kick off the robbery. The only complication is an increasingly friendly black parking attendant who, moved by Nicky's initial kindness and respect, ultimately is forced into a confrontation when a clearly conflicted Nicky must resort to racial slurs in order to make his timetable. It's a heartbreaking scene of commiseration between two men who shouldn't(by the '59 standards, anyway) have anything in common but do, and find that common ground shattered by circumstance (which is, of course, the point of "The Killing").
In terms of style, we don't seem to get much of what would become a lot of Kubrick's specific motifs, except perhaps for the almost simplistic presentation of morality that Kubrick tends towards in his later films. The overall point of the film is irony: the plan works fine (other than Sherry, an unforeseen complication), but they can't account for parking attendants, strong gusts of wind, and other circumstances that couldn't be predicted. Perhaps of all of Kubrick's films, it's the most centered on content instead of style. But, again, it was his first feature, so style probably wasn't something he was focused on just yet.
Final Thoughts: It's a mixed bag. The characters range from interesting to bland, but the story is balanced nicely (even if it does require an annoying voiceover to keep it structured properly). There are some great scenes contained in what is otherwise not the most riveting of films: the pressurized conversations between George and Sherry, Nicky dealing with the Parking Attendant, even kind-hearted brute Maurice's chaotic but strangely serene combat with a gaggle of police, are all beautiful moments of cinematic expression. But then there are other moments that just sort of fall flat.
Final rating: Three Stars. Strong first outing.
"The Killing" is very much about irony, as well as cause and effect. The story is fairly simple: a group of Men conspire to rob a horse race, making out with Two Million Dollars if successful. The plan mostly goes off without a hitch, but soon the robbers find themselves unprepared for the little things that pop up in the aftermath. Beyond that basic concept, the story wraps itself around smaller narratives surrounding the individual characters and their own stakes in the score, and their specific weaknesses.
This multi-narrative structure is easily "The Killings" best feature. In many ways, it's considerably ahead of its time in terms of structure and presentation, though it has its drawbacks (cinema hadn't figured out how to handle multi-narrative yet, so a grating and matter-of-fact voiceover is utilized to keep track of all the action), but the way Kubrick keeps the story grounded while maintaining layers if pretty remarkable: never does the film spiral out of control or become confusing, even if the action does. However, as is the wont of multi-narrative films, not all narratives are created equal: some of these guys are not as nearly as interesting as the others.
For instance, ringleader Johnny Clay (Sterling Hayden) probably gets the most screen time, and while his manipulation of events specifically drives the action, the guy just isn't super interesting. In many ways, he's a Mary Sue: we meet him being fawned over by his Girlfriend (who constantly goes on and on about how she "isn't pretty or smart" and that Johnny is everything to her-and we'll talk about that), the other men instantly respect and admire him, and in the end he isn't foiled by any specific character flaw, simply due to crazy random happenstance.
By contrast, the hapless and easily-manipulated George (Elisha Cook Jr) is a wonderfully drawn character: desperate to please his bored and disinterested Wife Sherry (Marie Windsor, who gives a wonderfully malevolent and sleazy performance), he quickly finds himself twisted up in any number of dilemmas. As Sherry masterfully wraps him around her finger, George finds himself more and more paranoid and desperate, ultimately driving the films explosive and shocking climax.
While Sherry is a well acted role, however, she and her only other Female co-star, the aforementioned Girlfriend of Johnny, illustrates a key difficulty in watching this film in 2016: attitudes towards Women have changed a lot. Johnny's Girlfriend constantly berates herself and is basically just another bag for Johnny to carry. Sherry is the plot contrivance that ruins everything: her greed is what ultimately causes the tragic climax to carry itself out, and it's fairly clear that George is her victim, not a victim of himself. While you could make an argument for "well, 1959 was a different time," it doesn't change the fact that this sort of misogyny stands out today. However, there is a scene that deals with racism in a particularly heartfelt way: gunman Nicky Arcane is tasked with shooting one of the horses in the race in order to kick off the robbery. The only complication is an increasingly friendly black parking attendant who, moved by Nicky's initial kindness and respect, ultimately is forced into a confrontation when a clearly conflicted Nicky must resort to racial slurs in order to make his timetable. It's a heartbreaking scene of commiseration between two men who shouldn't(by the '59 standards, anyway) have anything in common but do, and find that common ground shattered by circumstance (which is, of course, the point of "The Killing").
In terms of style, we don't seem to get much of what would become a lot of Kubrick's specific motifs, except perhaps for the almost simplistic presentation of morality that Kubrick tends towards in his later films. The overall point of the film is irony: the plan works fine (other than Sherry, an unforeseen complication), but they can't account for parking attendants, strong gusts of wind, and other circumstances that couldn't be predicted. Perhaps of all of Kubrick's films, it's the most centered on content instead of style. But, again, it was his first feature, so style probably wasn't something he was focused on just yet.
Final Thoughts: It's a mixed bag. The characters range from interesting to bland, but the story is balanced nicely (even if it does require an annoying voiceover to keep it structured properly). There are some great scenes contained in what is otherwise not the most riveting of films: the pressurized conversations between George and Sherry, Nicky dealing with the Parking Attendant, even kind-hearted brute Maurice's chaotic but strangely serene combat with a gaggle of police, are all beautiful moments of cinematic expression. But then there are other moments that just sort of fall flat.
Final rating: Three Stars. Strong first outing.
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