The Killer inside Me

Once again Michael Winterbottom – responsible for a diverse range of films including “Genova” and “Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story” – shows his prodigious talent for working in a number of genres as he tackles an adaptation of Jim Thompson’s classic pulp noir novel. Casey Affleck (who is brilliantly chilling here) plays a small town sheriff who is safe, reliable and rather boring. But beneath his passive exterior there lies the heart of a sadistic killer whose urges are about to get to the better of him once again. This is a troubling and often disturbing film that has garnered much notoriety for some uncomfortable scenes of violence. Whilst difficult to watch these scenes are necessary and work within the context of the film and make this a searing insight into a disturbed human psyche. It’s cold and detached tone is in some ways reminiscent of “Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer” with Winterbottom’s dispassionate approach oddly unsettling yet fascinating and he also manages to evoke the film noir style with aplomb. Add in the sterling work from Affleck, Jessica Alba and Kate Hudson and you have a film that – whilst sometimes difficult – is a sterling example of quality filmmaking. Laurence Boyce