Killshot (2009)—In a nut shell, the plot is that a divorcing couple witness a Mafia related crime, and the two hitmen come after them even after the couple is put on the federal witness protection plan. What is demanded of this plot? Two main things. The two hit men have to be scary, and we have to like the targeted couple.
Oddly enough, some studio gossip and background bears on why this reasonably good film doesn’t quite work as well as it should. The Elmore Leonard novel was with the Weinsteins at Miramax way back in 1995. When shooting was completed with a different studio in 2006, reshooting began soon. As did re-editing—every scene with a corrupt cop was edited out once focus groups expressed their intense displeasure. Which leads us directly to the weakness of the movie—too much nitty gritty realism and not enough apple pie.
The two hit men are excellent. Mickey Rourke does a good job as the killer Indian. How refreshing to see a Native American as something other than a victim. The outstanding acting goes to Joseph Gordon-Levitt, the brilliant young actor with the hard-to-remember name. He is psychopathic or maybe just wildly ADHD or too cocky or too stupid or too hyped-up. But he is a stellar contrast to Bourke’s quiet, introverted killer. So the threat half of the equation is there.
But caring for the middle-aged couple who are the targets is much more difficult. Realistic, they are. But sympathetic, no. Well, first of all they are divorcing for typically vague reasons—she’s somehow somewhat dissatisfied, and she means it. He has hunting guns and gear everywhere. Who really cares what happens to these two strangers?
Wayne, the husband, turns out to be a very unusual guy. In a way it is surprising that they didn’t cut his part like they cut the corrupt cop (just joking). Wayne is a laid off steel worker who puts on a suit to look for a new job, walks into his wife’s real estate office at lunch time, and uses a crow bar to thwart a murder. She says thanks. He professes continuing love for his wife. She acknowledges this but says no thanks. He fights off a Mafia hit man with some help from his wife. All in a day’s work. She appreciates it, which is nice.
But really, we should have cared a lot more about the couple and their marriage, which ultimately supplied the emotional tension and impact in the movie. Sometimes a movie can be too nitty gritty for its own good.