Killer (1994)

I saw this picture under the title "Bulletproof Heart", and thought it a better description of the story than "Killer", the way it's listed here on IMDb. See this one for Mimi Rogers' performance, she'll have you guessing every step of the way with her character Fiona, a doomed con artist who's resigned to an assassin's attempt on her life. When he shows up, Mick (Anthony LaPaglia) becomes a conflicted pawn in a weird cat and mouse game in which he begins to question who the real victim might be in the whole charade.You see, Mick has that existential thing going for him in which he questions everything about his life right down to it's very core. He's one of these guys who philosophizes about the meaning of meaning; as a politician he would have been right at home as a member of Bill Clinton's cabinet. I was actually kind of surprised his contact George (Peter Boyle) wound up talking him into the hit on Fiona. Maybe it was just George's earnest plea to take the job - "Forgive me for asking you to whack somebody, but the last time I looked, you were a friggin' assassin".The capper to this caper turns out to be Mick's erstwhile friend, partner and all around schmuck who turns the table on the viewer at the end of the picture with an unlikely coming of age as a professional assassin himself. Sorry to say, I think it was probably his last job. I'm pretty sure once Mick managed to compose himself, he might have taken on his next self imposed contract gratis.

Although just a decade ago, Anthony LaPaglia was a wild guy in movies, not the subdued leader of the hit TV program "Without A Trace." He usually played very profane guys, too. That's certainly the case here in this film which I've always seen labeled "Bulletproof Heart," (not "Killer").Actually, all four lead actors in this movie were interesting: assassin LaPaglia, love-sex- interest Mimi Rogers, comedians Matt Craven and Peter Boyle. The latter two play comedian-types, I should say. Craven is particularly funny in this movie. Rogers is here mainly to show off her huge breasts. She shows them off particularly in a bondage-type scene that is a bit sick. (This movie isn't exactly The Sound Of Music, morally-speaking. It's pretty sleazy.)The film has a good mixture of drama, humor, sex, violence and suspense. However, it also is a good example of Hollywood's depravity, pagan views and fatalistic viewpoints. Seeing more and more of that with my second and third viewing of this , my rating went lower and lower until I finally canned this from my collection. It's just too sordid.....but, for the first-time viewer, a real eye-opener which keeps your attention.

Before the Sopranos went on air we have a hired gun, a maffiosi, a killer who doubts the real meaning of it all. In fact he wonders the meaning of meaning. Without being to psychological it is a good thriller with the question 'Will he kill her'. Possibly a little too soon it is obvious whether he will or not but as a whole it is definitely worth watching albeit just for Mimi Rogers who till the end keeps you asking whether she - as an actress - is really terminally ill or just pulling everbody's strings

Hitman Mick is approached by small time mobster George to do a rush job that night on a woman (Fiona) who has stolen a lot of money from various people. However when Mick arrives he finds that she is not only expecting him but is ready to be killed. Mick is enticed by her and starts to get to know her – falling under her mysterious spell and eventually finding what he feels is love in his otherwise dead world. However the time must come.This film is very stylish. It begins with a `hit' that is slow and quiet while `love is all around' plays in the background. This style stays with the whole film as it manages to feel both stagy but also be a cool and slick piece of film. The problem is that this style isn't fully carried into the plot or the characters. While the story of a hitman falling for his victim or finding love isn't new I still want something more than the usual.This is too straight forward and expects us to make huge leaps way too quickly in the film. The slick direction almost helps to conceal this – but not quite. The lack of character development in the two lead roles also weakens the film. LaPaglia can stare into the distance and act detached all he wants but his sudden fall into love is not easy to swallow at any point. He almost manages to hide this by `looking deep and lost' but not totally. Rogers swings from bubbly to scared to ready every 5 minutes and we never get to go beneath the surface with her. Boyle is OK if only because his performance brings the strengths out in his role without exposing the weaknesses.Overall a stylish directing job and several really nice touches do not a great film make. The weakness in plot and character are evident from 15 minutes in ans stay there for the rest of the film. It's a shame – a better developed script and characters would have made this a much better film. Good but flawed.