Review – The Killing

After sitting through the first two Ocean’s movies, I was left profoundly curious about what a robbery caper movie might be like if it was something besides a cheap excuse for a parade of celebrities. This early Stanley Kubrick effort scratches that itch nicely. To be sure, it has some flaws. The voice-over is stiff and distracting, and the plot has a hole or two. On the other hand, the characters have a little dimension to them (indeed, they have a lot of dimension when compared to typical crime drama fare). The storytelling makes innovative use of time frame, moving back and forth in order to slowly spin the tale without being so jarring that the technique becomes intrusive. And best of all, the caper itself is intriguing. Maybe someday they’ll do a celebrity vehicle that has this kind of attention to the non-celebrity elements. I’m not holding my breath, but it would be nice. Worth seeing