The Killer Inside Me (2010)It is said that you cannot judge a book by its cover, an adage especially true regarding Deputy Sheriff Lou Ford (Casey Affleck), whose gentility and politeness is a facade for a corrupt sociopath, his angelic baby face and soft-spoken voice a mask for a murderous misogynist and devious schemer. Lou's cruelty and violence may have come from negligent (even abusive) upbringing; but ultimately, it was only the catalyst for his inner hatred and unspoken rage, one concealed from his colleagues in the Central City Police Department and even his fiancee, Amy (Kate Hudson), who may suspect his darkness, but even they cannot truly comprehend just what kind of monster Lou truly is.
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The Killer Inside Me is adapted from the crime novel of the same name by Jim Thompson, whose body of work consisted of the kind of intense, morally black thrillers like this one, which is regarded as one of his best. The Killer Inside Me is a good introduction not only to his style, but to hard-boiled crime fiction of Southern America--places with large stretches of uncultivated, raw land, of cowboy hats and plotting killers wearing the face of down-home kindness--which would serve as an influence for the kinds of works by various filmmakers (like The Coen Brothers), bringing the eventual adaptation of this novel from 1952 into a kind of stylistic circuit. The Killer Inside Me features signature elements in plot and setting, as well as the characters, from other works by Thompson, such as "Pop. 1280" for example: an amoral sheriff juggling women, involved in shady dealings with local members of the community, gets caught up in also working multiple angles to protect his own hide, prospering by creating a storm of suspicion and ambiguity. The Killer Inside Me was first intended to be adapted into a Hollywood picture over sixty years ago--and was once adapted in a form in 1976--and has had various actors and directors tied to it over the years. Jim Thompson's work seems naturally suited to the kind of intense, gritty plots of thrilling motion pictures, with a pulp fiction vibe as well as characteristics of film noir, in style and appearance. Were The Killer Inside Me filmed in black and white, in the style of films like Detour, it wouldn't be all that strange. Jim Thompson's talents also spread into writing screenplays for some of the earlier films by Stanley Kubrick, including The Killing and Paths of Glory, with The Killing sharing the same kind of labyrinthine web of deception and lies constantly played at by the crooks and grifters making up the story, another trope of Thompson's work felt thoroughly in The Killer Inside Me.
That "film noir" feel that The Killer Inside Me has ultimately comes from the sense that the compass of morality is completely spun out of whack, with Lou being the most detestable example of corruption, while ironically appearing as a pillar of the community. In the world of The Killer Inside Me, there appears to be very few examples of goodness on the path Lou chooses to walk, for it is a path made comfortable by his own corruption. His concealed evil is brought to the surface when he is tasked to encourage a prostitute named Joyce Lakeland (Jessica Alba), who operates on the outskirts of town, to pack up entirely. However, Lou finds himself drawn to her and they begin an affair; it is not merely her attractiveness which seduces him, but her penchant for sadomasochism--spurred by their encounter which turns violent in short order--which awakens a deep compulsion from within which once off the leash, grows more and more rabid. To complicate things, Joyce also invites Lou to help her blackmail a lover of her's, Elmer Conway (Jay R. Ferguson), whose father, Chester (Ned Beatty), is a prominent developer in Central City, and wants their affair discretely covered up. On top of that, Chester's self-described "nemesis" is a journalist and union organizer named Joe Rothman (Elias Koteas), who also scrutinizes Lou and his past, doubly so following the Deputy Sheriff's involvement in the blackmail payoff suddenly turns to murder. Lou is formally investigated by the county District Attorney Howard Hendricks (Simon Baker), who seems convinced of Lou's involvement even when Lou's superior, Sheriff Bob Maples (Tom Bower), appears to believe otherwise about the young man who he almost treats like a son. Joe serves as a persistent reminder for Lou that he may not be as clever as he believes, and that the more he struggles to escape his transgressions, like quicksand, he gets dragged down deeper and deeper.
One of the more infamous elements of The Killer Inside Me is the often sudden and extremely brutal violence which Lou inflicts on women at key points in the film, so unpleasant as to make one cringe. These are key moments which underscore Lou's nature as an pitiless monster, a deplorably cruel person, crucial in stripping away our impulse to empathize with the psychopath. Lou narrates The Killer Inside Me and is the protagonist of the story; under these parameters, we are conditioned to respond with empathy to the main character, but this film abjectly denies us this, leaving us wishing to see justice done to Lou at the end, hoping for his plans to unravel. As in other stories with an unsavory narrator, like Vladimir Nabokov's "Lolita", the audience is forced to question the authenticity of what is observed by a psychologically unbalanced protagonist, an "unreliable narrator". This inversion of the traditional narrative leaves the audience unsettled not just by the amoral viciousness of Lou's actions, but also feeling vulnerable at a protagonist who appears civil in public but is, in fact, a sadistic killer. The Killer Inside Me is a period piece of the 1950s, and is filled with light and contemporary folk music of the time, fitting the locale of Texas. The inclusion of this music in the score also paradoxically creates a sense of ease and lightness, which is intentionally jarring when it follows scenes of terrible violence. It has the effect of creating a sense of the public persona Lou conveys, being one of wholesomeness and goodness, a mask to hide his evil. It also suggests that many people will turn a blind eye unconsciously to violence and cruelty, and other abuses, and that the perception of Lou as a protector and "good person" gives him the sense that he can get away with his crimes, comfortable that the people he abuses are publicly viewed as sinful; his reputation gives him an advantage. The irony, however, is that Lou cannot really see that as he becomes closer to others, they understand that he is deceiving them in some capacity, highlighting an intrinsically alien mindset in him, like a dangerous predator given to violent instinct, something which cannot be truly trusted.
Recommended for: Fans of a taut and tense crime story thriller with a harrowing and chilling main character. The Killer Inside Me forces you to distance yourself from the protagonist, creating a persistent sense of unease and distrust.
That "film noir" feel that The Killer Inside Me has ultimately comes from the sense that the compass of morality is completely spun out of whack, with Lou being the most detestable example of corruption, while ironically appearing as a pillar of the community. In the world of The Killer Inside Me, there appears to be very few examples of goodness on the path Lou chooses to walk, for it is a path made comfortable by his own corruption. His concealed evil is brought to the surface when he is tasked to encourage a prostitute named Joyce Lakeland (Jessica Alba), who operates on the outskirts of town, to pack up entirely. However, Lou finds himself drawn to her and they begin an affair; it is not merely her attractiveness which seduces him, but her penchant for sadomasochism--spurred by their encounter which turns violent in short order--which awakens a deep compulsion from within which once off the leash, grows more and more rabid. To complicate things, Joyce also invites Lou to help her blackmail a lover of her's, Elmer Conway (Jay R. Ferguson), whose father, Chester (Ned Beatty), is a prominent developer in Central City, and wants their affair discretely covered up. On top of that, Chester's self-described "nemesis" is a journalist and union organizer named Joe Rothman (Elias Koteas), who also scrutinizes Lou and his past, doubly so following the Deputy Sheriff's involvement in the blackmail payoff suddenly turns to murder. Lou is formally investigated by the county District Attorney Howard Hendricks (Simon Baker), who seems convinced of Lou's involvement even when Lou's superior, Sheriff Bob Maples (Tom Bower), appears to believe otherwise about the young man who he almost treats like a son. Joe serves as a persistent reminder for Lou that he may not be as clever as he believes, and that the more he struggles to escape his transgressions, like quicksand, he gets dragged down deeper and deeper.
One of the more infamous elements of The Killer Inside Me is the often sudden and extremely brutal violence which Lou inflicts on women at key points in the film, so unpleasant as to make one cringe. These are key moments which underscore Lou's nature as an pitiless monster, a deplorably cruel person, crucial in stripping away our impulse to empathize with the psychopath. Lou narrates The Killer Inside Me and is the protagonist of the story; under these parameters, we are conditioned to respond with empathy to the main character, but this film abjectly denies us this, leaving us wishing to see justice done to Lou at the end, hoping for his plans to unravel. As in other stories with an unsavory narrator, like Vladimir Nabokov's "Lolita", the audience is forced to question the authenticity of what is observed by a psychologically unbalanced protagonist, an "unreliable narrator". This inversion of the traditional narrative leaves the audience unsettled not just by the amoral viciousness of Lou's actions, but also feeling vulnerable at a protagonist who appears civil in public but is, in fact, a sadistic killer. The Killer Inside Me is a period piece of the 1950s, and is filled with light and contemporary folk music of the time, fitting the locale of Texas. The inclusion of this music in the score also paradoxically creates a sense of ease and lightness, which is intentionally jarring when it follows scenes of terrible violence. It has the effect of creating a sense of the public persona Lou conveys, being one of wholesomeness and goodness, a mask to hide his evil. It also suggests that many people will turn a blind eye unconsciously to violence and cruelty, and other abuses, and that the perception of Lou as a protector and "good person" gives him the sense that he can get away with his crimes, comfortable that the people he abuses are publicly viewed as sinful; his reputation gives him an advantage. The irony, however, is that Lou cannot really see that as he becomes closer to others, they understand that he is deceiving them in some capacity, highlighting an intrinsically alien mindset in him, like a dangerous predator given to violent instinct, something which cannot be truly trusted.
Recommended for: Fans of a taut and tense crime story thriller with a harrowing and chilling main character. The Killer Inside Me forces you to distance yourself from the protagonist, creating a persistent sense of unease and distrust.