I Hired a Contract Killer
Directed by:
Aki KaurismäkiScreenplay:
Aki KaurismäkiCinematography:
Timo SalminenCast:
Jean-Pierre Léaud, Margi Clarke, Kenneth Colley, Serge Reggiani, Nicky Tesco, Charles Cork, Angela Walsh, Michael O'Hagan, Walter Sparrow, Tony Rohr (more)VOD (1)
Plots(1)
Iris (Outinen) works a dreary job as a quality control inspector in a match factory. Her stifling home life isn't much better - she rents a room from her morally strict mother and stepfather and has little in the way of a social life. The monotony of it all comes to an abrupt end when she becomes pregnant by a white collar worker she meets at a local nightclub. Rejected by her lover and kicked out of her mother's house, Iris buys a box of rat poison and sets her mind on revenge. (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Reviews (2)
Aki Kaurismäki is truly a minimalist, now with basically three characters - albeit anchored in the social environment - he manages to handle an interesting story, which has a good starting point but is not filmed to fully exploit its potential. The man's attempt to let himself be killed is absurdly strange.
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I will probably never stop admiring Kaurismäki's unmistakable directorial style, which plays a major role in this film. It is again a story from the socially weaker classes with very spare dialogues and peculiar humor. However, what got me the most was the theme, both in its simplicity and in its originality. If I add to that the wonderful musical underscore and the great performance of Jean-Pierre Léaud in the lead role, I'm almost aiming for the highest rating. (85%)
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