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THE HITMAN, THE KILLER, AND YOU. 

What movies talk to you about your creative process? And what do these two similar-yet-different films tell me about mine? 

I watch a lot of movies, and I spend a lot of time thinking about how and why I make comics. Frequently, these two pastimes overlap. Today, I want to talk about David Fincher’s 2023 film The Killer, and Richard Linklater’s 2024 release Hit Man, and why these two similar-yet-wildly-different films forced me to spend time thinking about the pain and pleasure I get from making comics, and why differentiating between the two might be difficult (for me, at least).  

First, a quick summary of both films for the unfamiliar. (And I strongly suggest watching both: while neither are typical ‘hired killer’ fare, what they lack in traditional action they make up for in penetrating character study)

Hit Man was released on Netflix in early 2024 was directed by Richard Linklater (Dazed and Confused, A Scanner Darkly) and stars Glenn Powell and Adira Arjona. It’s the story of a mild-mannered professor who starts moonlighting as a fake hitman for the police. He tailors his hitman persona to fit his “clients” expectations to gain their trust. The story becomes complicated when he falls for a woman who wants her husband murdered. 

The Killer was released on Netflix in late 2023, directed by David Fincher (Se7en, Fight Club) and stars Michael Fassbender and Tilda Swinton. After a world-class hitman misses his mark, his world is thrown into disarray, pitting himself against his former employers and the killers sent after him. To survive, he must employ every one of his talents, while constantly reassuring himself that his decisions are sound and his path is the correct one. 

A brief disclaimer before I continue: This is in no way an attempt to make the work of a writer comparable to a contract killer, a handsome movie star, or an A-list director, in any way.  We’re all goblins around here, no matter how hard we wear our sunglasses indoors. With that, I’ll get to my thesis:

The Hit Man uses art to improve himself. 

The Killer punishes himself to improve his art. 

I’ll dance around spoilers for the uninitiated, but put simply: Our Hit Man paints pictures with his characters, characters that ultimately influence and improve the person behind them. This is art as therapy, that the creations we make can give us a better understanding of who we are. That attempting to enrich others with art can end up enriching ourselves. We get a sense that when our Hit Man has found true happiness, he will be done creating these characters, the need to experiment having served its purpose. 

Conversely, our killer is quite eager to suffer punishment in the service of his “art“. We we see 

him eating terrible meals in uncomfortable surroundings, forced to endure boredom, loneliness, and utter isolation. His moves are calculated to the millimeter, his decisions to the second.  When we see The Killer relaxed on a beach, we get a clear sense he’s twitchy, fidgety, because he’s eager to return to a pain that is less masochism and more “marathon runner”, or “powerlifter”. The pain of strenuous exercise that forges us into a better instrument.  

It’s important to interrogate our art, to improve our craft as well as gain a better understanding of ourselves. And of course, these two examples are a fraction of the innumerable creative pathways available to us. Also, we’re all a (goblin-like) miasma of influence and perspective anyway, so maybe I’m just describing myself and this resonates with no one.

Either way, I’ll still be down here writing, trying to be less of a Killer and more of a Hit Man.