The Killer Inside Me: Movie Review

The Killer Inside Me: Movie Review

The Killer Inside Me
Rating: 6/10
Cast: Casey Affleck, Jessica Alba, Kate Hudson, Simon Baker
Director: Michael Winterbottom

A difficult watch to say the least, The Killer Inside Me (from acclaimed director Michael Winterbottom) is an adaptation of a Jim Thompson book about a sociopathic sheriff in 1950s Texas.

Casey Affleck plays said Sheriff Ford, who finds himself entangled in blackmail and extortion - as well as a torrid affair with prostitute Joyce (Jessica Alba) - and when things come to a head, boy, oh boy do they explode, as Ford discovers he's heading in deeper and deeper.

Things get worse for Sheriff Ford when The Mentalist's Simon Baker's character Howard Hendricks starts to investigate him (using very similar techniques to Patrick Jane as well) - and Ford finds he's in a real predicament.

This film, despite its slick 50s look and polished performances, is going to be steeped in controversy because of its violence- well, specifically its violence against the two women in Ford's life (both played wonderfully by Jessica Alba and Kate Hudson), which is shocking in the extreme.

While Affleck's performance is chilling and spot-on for a complete psychopath, it's a hard ask to watch a man who's meted out such violence as he has - audiences may find themselves split down the middle on this flick which has echoes of American Psycho (but none of the humour).

It's a shame because the film noir look works wonderfully and is evocative of '50s America and its seedy underbelly that breaks out from under the quiet veneer.

But The Killer Inside Me will polarise people because of its shocking violence, which actually leaves you numb and has led to accusations of the director being a misogynist, as the only violence towards men happens off screen, as opposed to the full glare of the women's demise.

It's gritty, dark, visceral, uncompromising and divisive cinema - so you have been warned.