3/13/08

You Kill Me

This is a black comedy...be warned! I checked the DVD from the library and I'm certain it is in the rental catalogs.

Sir Ben Kingsley ("House of Sand and Fog," "Sexy Beast" and "Schindler's List") is a professional hit man, employed by his uncle played by Philip Baker Hall ("Zodiak," "The TV Set" and "In Good Company") in Buffalo, which has become a war zone between three mobs; the Italians, the Irish and the Chinese. He has been a top-notch professional, but his alcoholism has caught up with him and he can no longer be entrusted with a job. His uncle, displaying notable kindness, ships him to San Francisco to "get in a program!" and dry out.

The uncle supplies him with a watchdog, played by Bill Pullman ("While You Were Sleeping" and "Independence Day") who furnishes him with an apartment and a job -- in a mortuary! While on the job, he meets Tea Leoni ("Fun With Dick and Jane" and "Flirting With Disaster"), there to bury her stepfather, and one thing leads to another... The scene where he is trying to figure out a list for one of the twelve steps...Make Amends...is a wry commentary on the AA program and his attempts to take each step as prescribed. His mentor in the program is a gay toll booth attendant, played by Luke Wilson ("Home Fries" and "Legally Blonde").

This highly praised 2007 movie has a notably clever script with witty dialogue, funny situations and loving relationships, all the while dealing with those pesky mob problems and our hero's obviously bad choice of professions.

I liked it very much!