David Fincher’s “The Killer”: The neoliberal assassin Listen to The Smiths

Harmony of Tension and Witty Brilliance

Released globally on November 10th, exclusively on Netflix, David Fincher’s newest film, “The Killer,” draws inspiration from the French graphic novel of the same name. This noir masterpiece, true to its title, revolves around an assassin. Known for crafting numerous masterpieces centered on the theme of murder, Fincher’s latest work is eagerly awaited and has already garnered acclaim from diverse sources.

After a three-year hiatus from the film industry, Michael Fassbender returns, portraying the titular assassin, known as “The Killer.” Fassbender adeptly embodies the role of a reserved criminal, leveraging his natural expressive abilities. Penned by Andrew Kevin Walker, known for his exceptional work on Fincher’s films, the screenplay weaves a captivating narrative, blending tension with a substantial dose of humor. Utilizing monologues, the film breathes life into the assassin’s distinctive character.

True to Fincher’s reputation as a perfectionist, the film boasts exceptional visual and compositional beauty in its intricate details. The vivid depiction of violence, coupled with expert direction, cinematography, and editing, subtly engages and unsettles the viewer’s psyche. The film’s restrained tone exudes dignity, evoking memories of crime films crafted by French master filmmaker Jean-Pierre Melville, particularly those starring Alain Delon.

The music deserves special mention, with Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, longstanding collaborators with Fincher, delivering an exceptional score for the film. Their ability to elicit, soothe, and occasionally purify the suspense is truly virtuosic. Adding to the film’s distinctiveness is its incorporation of pop music, which may wield such influence over the audience that it can be deemed a “quasi-leading role.”

As previously revealed, the film features a substantial number (as many as 11!) of songs by The Smiths, a legendary British rock band from the 1980s, adding a “funny” dimension to the soundtrack.

The Smiths: A “Laughable” Soundtrack Twist

Assassins practice yoga, listen to The Smiths to prep for sniping or maintain focus during the act. Some turn to The Smiths for relaxation while on the move, while others use their music to immediately calm their minds post-murder. Regardless, The Smiths accompany him for all occasions, each situation having its designated favorite “The Smiths playlist” for work.

The Smiths, renowned for their dark murder noir and fluid guitar sounds, might seem an unusual choice at first glance. Fincher addressed this during a press conference at the 80th Venice International Film Festival, where the film premiered.

The Smiths were a post-production addition because I knew I wanted to use ‘How Soon is Now?’ and I love the idea of that song specifically as a tool for assuaging his anxiety, I liked it as a meditation tape, I thought it was amusing and funny.

I don’t think that there’s a library of music by recording artists that have as much sardonic nature and wit simultaneously [as the Smiths],” Fincher continued. “And we don’t get an awful lot of access to who this guy is. I thought through his mixtape it would be amusing, that that would be our window into him.

Source: from https://www.stereogum.com/2235024/david-fincher-the-killer-smiths-songs/

Also, according to an interview with the director at the Cinémathèque Française in October, various tracks by Dusty Springfield, Mozart, Siouxsie And The Banshees, Joy Division, and others were initially According to the film’s director of photography, Eric Meyer, the film was shot in the United States. Eric Messerschmidt, the director of photography, suggested The Smiths’ song as a candidate, and with Reznor’s strong support, they decided to use the song.

Importantly, as noted in the same interview, Fincher apparently did not intend to use The Smiths’ music merely as cool background music, but rather for the “funny” feeling it creates when layered on top of the images.

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.

Neoliberalism, The Smiths, and the Protagonist

That is not the only funny thing about The Smiths’ songs in “The Killer”. Naturally, the appeal of The Smiths’ songs (or, more precisely, the appeal of Morrissey’s lyrics) is not limited to the aforementioned vivid expression of the loneliness and alienation of youth and the nihilistic self-consciousness that accompanies it. As is well known, they were perhaps one of the most political bands in 1980s Britain. Their political stance was distinctly leftist and based on radical anti-authoritarianism, as evidenced by Morrissey’s scathing criticism of Margaret Thatcher’s “neoliberal” and “neoconservative” policies (leaving aside his recent “rightward turn”). (I’ll leave aside his recent “rightward turn” for the moment). It is also known that Morrissey was greatly influenced by the so-called “Kitchen Synchrialism*” even before the band was formed, and that he sharpened his own expression. It is precisely because Morrissey did not let go of this perspective that the power of the sense of alienation and thirst for identity characteristic of youth that pervades their music is uniquely connected to an awareness of social issues and has a political impact.

*Kitchen Sink Realism… a cultural movement that flourished in Britain from the late 1950s to the early 1960s. Characterized by its focus on everyday motifs akin to the kitchen sink and its aim to depict the laborious lives of working-class individuals with a foundation in social realism. In the realm of cinema, Kitchen Sink Realism was led by figures like Tony Richardson and Lindsay Anderson, later succeeded by Ken Loach. In relation to the discussion in the main text, one could perceive “The Killer” as an inverted caricature of Ken Loach’s film “Sorry We Missed You” (2019), which portrays the calamities brought by the gig economy, reflecting the social and economic realities in a contrasting light.

Contrarily, a closer examination of the protagonist, the assassin in “The Killer,” strongly suggests that he is not genuinely aware of such issues, as evident from the film’s narrative. Although he initially presents as a solitary, anti-authoritarian bohemian, the aforementioned monologue exposes him as a self-centered individual. While the notion of altruistic assassins may seem nonsensical, he has unmistakably internalized a consciously calculated perspective on his profession. Operating as a “professional,” he foresees the future, lacks empathy for others, remains detached from any community, sidesteps regulations, conducts killings as a business for personal gain, and strives for maximum impact through efficient investments. Essentially, he serves as a caricature of an individual who has excessively and unmistakably embraced the principles of the so-called “neoliberal” ethic/logic.

He is a freelance killer who acts “freely” under his own responsibility. He receives orders from clients on a case-by-case basis, and makes decisions and acts “independently” on his own. Although he believes himself to be an excellent person who is committed to professionalism, once an unforeseen situation arises, he naturally cannot expect any backing from the organization. Not only do they have no backing, but a single failure can quickly bring them into the displeasure of the client or prime contractor and bring them to the brink of the ultimate punishment: death. In short, the assassin’s figure is a caricature of the risks of being a sole proprietor (subcontractor) in a late-stage capitalist society that has achieved a high degree of job mobility.

Critical Reflection on Late Capitalist Society

In this light, the assassin’s love for the songs of The Smiths, who were known for their vitriolic criticism of Thatcher, the strongest proponent of the so-called “neolibe,” and who sang about the serious inadequacies of youth in such a society, is a bit too witty and ironic.

Confident businesspeople listen to The Smiths to stroke their “outlaw” status, just as they ingest their favorite music for “healing” and “energy for tomorrow. They do not objectify themselves as mere members of the gig economy, after all, but act professionally at their own risk. No, I have no choice but to act. Even in the course of the grueling task of hunting down the client who put himself and his loved ones at risk.

The background music for the nonpolitical freelance assassin is always The Smiths’ classic songs about outsiders “just like me. What a grand irony! It is not surprising to find in this irony a biting critique of a familiar phenomenon of our time, in which certain subcultures clad in radical politics are gradually de-ideologized by the whirlwind of the commodity economy, and instead, are deftly prolonged as pro-capitalist “goods.

What Fincher means by “funny” is precisely the feeling I have described above. Thinking back to “Fight Club” and “The Social Network,” David Fincher has been relentlessly depicting the ridiculousness and contradictions of men living in late capitalist society for some time. With his ever-restrained narrative style, one could be fooled for a moment into thinking that “The Killer” is a celebration of “cool masculinity,” but in fact, it seems to reveal quite the opposite. In other words, “How ‘independent’ and ‘free’ are you, who almost applaud the monologue and behavior of this man-assassin, in the current social/economic system of sharing economy, gig economy, and technology led by global corporations? How “independent” and “free” can you be in the current social/economic system led by global corporations, the sharing and gig economy, and technology? This question should be the most critical theme of this film. The Smiths’ music plays an extremely important role in bringing this question to light. At the same time, the way the question is posed in such a roundabout way is itself very much like The Smiths.

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