Starring the magnificently contained Michael Fassbender as the unnamed hitman, this is one film that must be viewed without any previous knowledge of its story and possibly on a cool Fall evening, with a shot of premium whiskey nearby. But you’ll have to see for yourself why that is.

Even disclosing the smallest, least significant thing about The Killer means giving something away. Within a minute of reading the press kit, which I thankfully did only after viewing the film at its official premiere in Venice, I could have understood the film. Even if I hadn’t watched it, as giving one hint of the film’s story is one too many for me. Because there is something so precious about watching a film like David Fincher’s latest masterpiece on what I’d call a cinematic empty stomach. Knowing nothing, expecting everything, and let me just say that you won’t be disappointed.

As the film begins, the unnamed assassins stalks his prey, from a vacant WeWork office overlooking the Parisian skyline. Think hints of Rear Window meets Léon: The Professional. He sports the obvious signs of Asperger's, repeating a strangely detached mantra to himself, practices yoga, eats from Mcdonalds on a Keto diet (throwing out the carbs on his Egg mcMuffin) and cleans up after himself religiously. But when something goes awry — see, I’m not giving anything away! — he must come to terms with who he is and what to do next. And why he is who he is. Because above and beyond the obvious assassin references, The Killer is about coming to terms with ourselves, all of ourselves — the good, the bad and the ugly.

The story of Fincher’s film is adapted from the graphic novel by “Matz” (Alexis Nolent) illustrated by Luc Jacamon, that was published in 12 volumes starting in 1998 and originally named Le Tueur in French. Fincher first read The Killer shortly after the 2007 publication of an English-language edition of the acclaimed French comic book series and then collaborated with screenwriter Andrew Kevin Walker, with whom he created the indelible serial killer thriller Se7en in 1995 to write the screenplay for his Netflix produced film. More French references include a nod to the 1967 film Le Samouraï, starring Alain Delon.

Yet this contract killer isn’t as cool as we are used to seeing assassins portrayed in the movies. He travels economy on planes, stays at non-descript chain hotels, wears the kind of clothing, complete with a bucket hat, you’d expect from the man who stands behind you in line at the Home Depot — Fincher’s quote, not my own. In fact, the exact quote about his character reads “James Bond by way of Home Depot,” which describes him brilliantly.

This killer also builds up to his hits by playing The Smiths, breathing down to his optimum pulse, telling himself over and over “Stick to your plan. Anticipate, don’t improvise. Trust no one. Never yield an advantage. Fight only the battle you’re paid to fight...” as a mantra. When he travels, he takes on the names of TV characters in his fake documents, culminating in one George Jefferson from The Jeffersons, which had me in stitches when I probably shouldn’t have been laughing.

And it turns out that this killer is anything but detached when things don’t go according to plan.

“I liked the idea of exploring the inner psyche of somebody who kills for a living. And how he qualifies his notion of what he’s doing from what other people might ‘misperceive’ it as. I liked the idea of James Bond by way of Home Depot. And we love revenge movies, but the reality of revenge is there’s a lot about it that should make audiences uncomfortable. We’re going to explore that. We want to involve viewers in all of it.” — David Fincher

And involve us, the audience he does. The story is told in chapters, which move around from France, to the Dominican Republic, to the US and culminate in a meeting with Miss Coolness herself, Tilda Swinton. That’s where the glass of premium whiskey will be craved and you should seriously have one nearby — unless you’re under 21 or a teetotaller.

The film’s striking look is also due to the DoP here, Erik Messerschmidt, who also worked on previous Fincher films, but also Ferrari, which happened to be in Venice this year as well. And production designer Donald Graham Burt along with costume designer Cate Adams. Music is curated by Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross, with sound design by Ren Klyce. The film is produced by Ceán Chaffin, p.g.a., William Doyle and Peter Mavromates, with Alexandra Milchan as EP.

Last but not least on this list is editor Kirk Baxter, who pulls the story together and doesn’t allow one moment to be in excess of what is needed to truly get this masterpiece to the level it deserves. At a festival where a few films were just a few minutes too long, The Killer felt perfect in every way — leaving this viewer wanting for more.

The Killer will be released worldwide on Netflix on November 10th, 2023 but it warrants a big screen viewing so look out for it at your local cinemas or festivals like the BFI London Film Festival where it will screen in October.

Images courtesy of Netflix, used with permission.