Shoveling snow in the morning during the dead of winter in Buffalo, N.Y., would be chilly, right? Not for Frank, played by Ben Kingsley in “You Kill Me.” Frank warms up with the bottle of vodka he takes huge gulps from every few feet, and he drinks it so easily you would think it was water. His cousin Stef (Marcus Thomas) stops by to check up on Frank’s lonely and emotionally numb state and urges him to complete his next work assignment correctly.
The excess of drinking at all times of the day would get in the way of any job, and so it does with Frank’s. Frank’s job, however, isn’t a 60 hour-a-week office job: It’s working for the family business as the hit man for the Polish gang his uncle Roman (Phillip Baker Hall) heads. Denis Farina plays O’Leary, the leader of the Irish gang that is beginning to put pressure on the Polish gang, attempting to push them out of town or kill them in the process.
When Frank makes a horrible mistake on a very important assignment because of his drinking habits, he is confronted by his uncle and given the opportunity to sober up or else, as Roman says, “You can’t work for us and we can’t let you work for anybody else.”
Shipped off to San Francisco, Frank attends his first Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, scoffing and wriggling in his chair, until he finally leaves early. Dave (Bill Pullman), the man who is the watchdog of Frank and his recovery, warns Frank not to slip up or else one call will be made and recovery will no longer be an option.
Frank meets new people at AA and is befriended by Tom (Luke Wilson). He eventually meets Laurel (Téa Leoni) while working his new job at a mortuary, and a loving tug-of-war romance begins.
Since I’m not one to give things away, you readers will have to go out and watch the movie on your own to know the rest of the story, and definitely should.
A comedic drama, “You Kill Me” is packed with dry humor and the serious issues of addiction, desensitization and family responsibility. This is not necessarily a comedy to give you a stomachache, but the characters are played in such a natural and focused way that you can’t help but laugh, either at the jokes or through relating in some way to the characters and what they are going through.
Director John Dahl does a fantastic job joining the dialogue with visuals that make the messages of the film pop. The audience can see that small changes, and sometimes big ones, can positively affect your life even if it is just as simple as changing the direction you walk down a steep hill.
Kingsley plays Frank’s transition with fluidity and subtlety, and we see the inward reflections of change. With Dahl’s direction, the literal reflections, such as those in hand mirrors and windows, are also shown. These can grab the audience with a pull toward our own awareness, becoming a beacon of light in the mist of the doubt and confusion we all can face.
Just as in real life, everybody can go further with the support of others. Leoni and Wilson are superb supporting actors and play their roles with precision. Each actor clearly shows what they are thinking and feeling, at times without any dialogue.
The soundtrack is never distracting and only adds to the film with songs such as “Requiem for Bowling Shoes,” which plays during a scene in which Laurel brings in bowling shoes to be worn by her deceased stepfather at his viewing.
“You Kill Me” is a really worthwhile film overall even with the few characters or moments I found overbearing or awkward. Its messages of self-improvement and the necessity of leaning on others for help in order to better yourself are applicable to any life.
