King of the thriller genre, David Fincher is back in business. It's been almost a decade since the Fight Club director worked on what he's best known for. Between Gone Girl from 2014 and The Killer of 2023, Fincher has consistently been working, but on a more diverse array of projects. These have ranged from the series Mindhunter, which was tragically cut short, to the unexpected biopic Mank. While these were excellent pieces of work in different ways, it's still wonderful to see Fincher returning to his roots with a pure thriller, which is arguably what he does best.
The Killer has a simple premise: it revolves around a hit-man who finds himself at the center of an international man-hunt after a job goes wrong. As time progresses, he starts to wonder if he is losing his mind after years of laser-focus, and in this way, the movie acts as a character study. The noir-inflected narrative finds Fincher back where we'd expect him to be, using his meticulous knack for precision to create a tight, intense, gripping story. It whips along at breakneck pace, hitting every beat that you'd want out of a thriller like this.
If you're ready to get acquainted with the movie's cast and the characters that they play, take a look at this guide.
Michael Fassbender as "The Killer"
In the lead role, we have Michael Fassbender as the unnamed central assassin. As mentioned, one of his hits goes wrong, which sets off a labyrinthine, kill-or-be-killed journey. During this time, he starts experiencing glimmers of a conscience, which make him wonder if he is going crazy. Fassbender is perfect for the role due to his combination of being physically imposing but also a well known and liked public figure, which builds sympathy for a hard to like character.
As an actor, he is well known for a diverse selection of projects, namely the likes of 12 Years a Slave and Steve Jobs, which both earned him an Oscar nomination, as well as others including X-Men: First Class and Prometheus.
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Sophie Charlotte as Magdala
The event that triggers the protagonist's rampage is that he returns home from his failed job to find his partner, Magdala, has been assaulted. Magdala is played by Sophie Charlotte. Whether she manages to develop beyond a character being merely a catalyst for later events is up for debate, but is that what The Killer is really about?
Charlotte is a German-Brazilian actor who is best known for her work on the Brazilian soap operas Malhação and Watercolors of Love. She primarily works in the Brazilian film and television industry, and has appeared in movies such as Reza a Lenda, O Rio do Desejo, and Barata Ribeiro, 716.
Tilda Swinton as "The Expert"
Starring opposite Fassbender as a rival assassin, Tilda Swinton plays The Expert, another unnamed character. She is one of many opponents that The Killer faces up against over the course of the action, and he must decide if he will spare them or kill them, or at least kill them in a slightly kinder way.
Swinton is another huge name in the industry; you might recognize her from her work in movies including Lynne Ramsay's We Need to Talk About Kevin, Bong Joon-ho's Snowpiercer, and Sally Potter's Orlando. Additionally, she earned an Oscar win for her role as Karen Crowder in Michael Clayton.
Charles Parnell as Hodges "The Lawyer"
Charles Parnell plays Hodges, a lawyer, in The Killer. Hodges is the person who initially got the protagonist into the assassination business, and whether that lands him on the kill list will remain to be seen. However, the fact that he is responsible for The Killer ending up where he is could warrant some conflict between the two.
As an actor, Parnell is well known within the action genre as one of the stars of Top Gun: Maverick,Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning, and Transformers: Age of Extinction. Interestingly, Parnell has also done a lot of work as a voice actor for video games which include Marvel's Avengers, Mass Effect: Andromeda, and Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare.
Kerry O'Malley as Dolores
Dolores works for Hodges as his resourceful and efficient office administrator, and she is played by Kelly O'Malley. She is yet another person that the confronts The Killer with a moral dilemma: to kill or not to kill?
In her other work, O'Malley largely takes on television projects. She has had runs on the shows Snowpiercer, Shameless, and Those Who Kill. When it comes to cinema, you may have seen O'Malley in projects such as the Annabelle series, Terminator Genisys, and Earth to Echo.
Sala Baker as "The Brute"
Unsurprisingly, Sala Baker's character, "The Brute," is another of the protagonist's opponents that sends him on an intercontinental journey around the world. The moral conundrum that this portion of the movie presents Fassbender's character with is that there is a dog he must decide what to do with.
Baker is both an actor and a stuntman, which makes him well suited for this action-heavy role. He has made appearances in The Lord of the Rings series, Savages, and Iron Man 3. When it comes to stunt work, Baker also has an impressive resume that includes the Pirates of the Caribbean series, Bullet Train, and a number of superhero movies such as Deadpool and Captain America: Civil War.
Arliss Howard as Claybourne "The Client"
After previously working with Fincher on Mank in which he starred as the founder of MGM, Arliss Howard now stars in The Killer as Claybourne, who is also known as "The Client." Besides his work on Mank, you may have seen Howard in movies such as Full Metal Jacket, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, or Moneyball. He has also taken on roles in a number of TV shows that include Rubicon, True Blood, and Manhunt.
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