The Killer Inside Me
| By Michael Winterbottom | |
| With Casey Affleck, Jessica Alba, Kate Hudson | |
 | Deputy Sheriff Lou Ford is a respected member of his community even as he’s also a shrewd and sadistic sociopath. However, after the son of a local mogul is found dead with the beaten body of a local prostitute, suspicion falls on Ford. The film, which takes place in Texas 1952, is adapted from Jim Thompson’s great psycho-noir novel of the same title. Fifty years after the book was written, this portrait of small-town America is still shocking, with its depiction of violence against women deeply unsettling. Ford’s Southern manners, baby face, and bland homilies are the epitome of evil, and Casey Affleck as sociopath Ford is unsettlingly convincing. The ensemble cast, from Casey Affleck’s Ford, to Jessica Alba’s sad, complex and compelling role as witness, to Kate Hudson’s profoundly moving performance as Ford’s girlfriend, are excellent. Directed by Michael Winterbottom, this is a darkly disturbing film in which the graphic violence is not for entertainment, but to reflect the brutal destruction of sympathetic life. This isn’t a film for everyone, but it is nonetheless a very good film. (Certificate 18) |