INDEX
Ironic Monologue and the “Everlasting Light”
The following is an important “spoiler” and should be read again after viewing the film, if possible.
The film “The Killer” closes with a monologue by the assassin as he returns home. In this enigmatic final scene, the assassin makes a recollection that is somehow quite different from anything he has said or done in the past. He had been asking us to predict our own destiny with such professional zeal, but here he suddenly asserts (or admits) that the future is unpredictable. He then tells us that those who cannot admit this are not a special few, but merely “one of many like me” (with a sudden twitch in the corner of his eye, just like us overworked businesspeople today).
I can’t help but see in this last scene the earnestness of Fincher and Walker’s writing. The assassin’s actions in the film, and the ethics and logic that have defined them, are in fact only a projection of what many viewers have internalized, and this is suddenly revealed by the assassin himself. Once again, what irony, what a roundabout way to achieve a message. However, it is precisely because it is ironic and indirect that it leaves such a strong impression.
In the end roll, the famous song “There Is a Light That Never Goes Out” is played to conclude the series of attacks on The Smiths. What exactly is “the light that never goes out”? With this thought in mind, I could do nothing but stare blankly at the end roll.
The Killer
Netflix exclusive distribution from November 10, 2023 (Friday)
Director: David Fincher
Cast: Michael Fassbender, Tilda Swinton, Arliss Howard, etc.
https://www.netflix.com/jp/title/80234448
