The Killing (1956)
Career criminal Johnny Clay recruits a sharpshooter, a crooked police officer, a bartender and a betting teller named George, among others, for one last job before he goes straight and gets married. But when George tells his restless wife about the scheme to steal millions from the racetrack where he works, she hatches a plot of her own.
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The Killing is one of Stanley Kubrick's best films. It was made before he got a big ego. The writing is excellent and the performances are memorable. If you like heist movies or film noir, this is one you should definitely check out.
(Flash Review)This didn't do much for me, sadly, even with an 8.0/10 IMDb rating, which I'd guess is partly because of who the director is. That was the impetus for me to give it a go. The plot revolves around a horse racetrack heist and of course within Noir there is double crossing. Apparently, this is sequenced non-linearly which really confuses the story; not executed effectively. There are some typical Noir scenes that are so stereotypical and overacted that is becomes comical. And by 1956, many Noir traits have been defined. Nothing more to comment on aside being thankful that Kubrick learned from this to make some stellar films!
A film from the early career of one Stanley Kubrick. You might have heard of him. And to be fair, the early nature of the film from such a unique director certainly shows. Because Kubrick is very much known as a visionary. His movies are art, every frame a painting. Whereas The Killing, while certainly well-made, is not. There are hints of the kind of films Kubrick would end up making in it, but as a whole you wouldn't be able to tell it for a Kubrick if you didn't know.This is not to say it's a bad film. Quite the opposite, actually. The story is about a horse track heist, an ageing criminal looking to pull one last job with the help of a carefully chosen crew. Unfortunately the greenest, but also one of the most essential, members turns out to be a bit too loose-lipped with the secret and the whole plan starts to unravel.The film jumps around in time and place a lot, telling the story in small segments. And yet the storytelling is tight enough that it's never hard to follow. The characters are all interesting and the heist itself is very complicated, which in real world would be a huge problem, but which we allow in a film because it makes it more interesting.And then there's the ending. Kudos for Kubrick, because it's one of the finest I've seen in a while and certainly nothing you'd ever expect.All in all an interesting experience. A look into the growth of a great director and a good film in its own right.
The Killing has been a Kubrick film I've looked forward to watching. It takes my deep love for Film-Noir and my fascination with Stanley Kubrick and puts them together and I'm happy to say that I wasn't disappointed, as if there was any doubt. Kubrick here presents a cinematic inspiration for those that followed in his footsteps. It's of no wonder that this film and its broken timeline inspired other filmmakers to present their storyline in a similar fashion. As a plot there isn't anything too special here, but like everything Kubrick, it's not what he's saying but how he's saying it. Visually the film holds together quite nicely and presents itself with low key lighting and very nice contrasts for emphasis. Your Kubrick catalog is not complete without The Killing, it's probably his most accessible film outside of Spartacus.