INDEX
The Significance of a Confident Nihilist Listening to The Smiths
The Smiths’ “How Soon is Now?”—referred to by Fincher—initially debuted in August 1984 as the B-side of the fifth single, “William, It Was Really Nothing.” However, its popularity surged post-release, prompting a reissue with the song as the A-side the following year. Embraced by fans, the track vividly encapsulates elements central to The Smiths’ style: a blend of beauty and darkness, and lyrics infused with cynical black humor stemming from profound feelings of loneliness, alienation, and an inescapable inferiority complex. (It’s worth noting that the song’s disdain for those who casually proclaim, “Happiness will come to you,” and the intense self-awareness permeating the lyrics, make for a somewhat selective delivery in its lyrical world.)
Fincher uses “How Soon is Now?” near the beginning of the film, when the assassin looks into his scope to make his shot. The assassin puts on his earphones and plays the song in order to concentrate on his “job. In the scene where the assassin is looking into the room through the scope, the music is turned on to reproduce his experience, and in the scene where the camera pulls back to show the assassin himself, the music is turned off (as if to indicate sound leakage from the earphones). This rapid switching of on/off of the sound playback, accompanied by his own monologue, is very clever from the point of view of production effect, and does a good job of heightening the tension in the audience.
What is noteworthy here is the content of the monologue. In the manner of a “professional killer,” Fassbender waxes eloquent about how to concentrate, how to quiet his mind, tips on his work, and the logic he must follow (which is all the more bizarre when compared to the extremely few conversations he has in real life). According to him, he supports neither God nor country. He represents no one. He does not improvise, only follow the plan. Trust no one. Trust only yourself and always anticipate what will happen. Do not let your opponent gain the upper hand. Fight only the battles that are worth the price. Don’t get emotionally involved. It creates weakness. The key to success is simple. It doesn’t matter. At every step of the way, ask what you can gain. Make sure you do what you need to do. If you want to succeed, do it.
He is a considerable nihilist and a confident practitioner. In addition, he is quite self-conscious. Therefore, despite his high self-esteem, he seems to be more concerned with self-reference/self-implication that “I am a professional” than with the severity and reality of being a professional, which gives a rather comical impression. This ridiculousness and irresponsibility are further amplified by the “near miss” of the sniper and his hasty retreat immediately afterwards, and not only in this sequence, but throughout the film, he does not hide his somewhat idiotic character.
Let us return to the story. It is precisely the music of The Smiths that has a profound effect in shaping the character of the protagonist. Anti-authority, nihilistic, twisted confidence man. The Smiths’ songs are anti-authority, nihilistic, twisted, and self-confident, a type that often appears in Morrissey’s lyrics, and which comically overlaps with the image of a young man alienated from the world and bloated with a sense of emptiness and self-consciousness. This is a biting irony or even a caricature of “the boys or ex-boys who enjoy listening to The Smiths” from the other side.
