David Fincher’s Obsession With Old Sitcoms Helped 1 Crucial Arc in Michael Fassbender’s ‘The Killer’
American filmmaker David Fincher who is mostly known for his psychological thriller projects is one of the most celebrated filmmakers and has also directed music videos including Madonna’s Express Yourself in 1989, Jay-Z and Justin Timberlake’s Suit & Tie in 2013, and Rolling Stones’ Love is Strong in 1994; in addition to making movies.
The filmmaker’s recent action thriller release The Killer starring Michael Fassbender premiered at the 80th Venice International Film Festival and later received limited theatrical release in September. The movie received a positive response from the audience and the critics and began its OTT streaming on November 10 on Netflix. Netizens noted one crucial detail in the movie and its connection with Fincher’s bent toward old sitcoms. Let’s find out.
David Fincher’s The Killer pays homage to classic sitcoms
Filmmaker David Fincher’s recent release The Killer starring actor Michael Fassbender, Charles Parnell, Kerry O’Malley, etc., showcases his signature directorial style by setting out the perfect theme of the movie, the narrative structure and cinematography which has been appreciated by the critics as well as the audience.
One very crucial detail that the audience pointed out was the way the director had paid homage to classic sitcoms by using the sitcom character as the Killer’s aliases and the costumes that were reportedly inspired by the HITMAN video game series according to ScreenRant.
Michael Fassbender’s character The Killer’s identity is never revealed in the movie but interestingly the character goes by various names including Sam Malone, George Jefferson, Archie Bunker, Felix Unger, Oscar Madison, Howard Cunningham, etc., which is a nod to the classic sitcom characters from the filmmaker.
The sitcom aliases can be seen on the Killer’s fake IDs, passports, and documents throughout the movie as he travels from one place to another. These aliases of sitcoms in the movie seemingly acts as a dry and dark humor in an action thriller movie and the ones who were able to recognize this seemed very impressed with the director for pulling it off.
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David Fincher’s The Killer’s screenwriter explains the sitcom aliases
During a conversation with EW, screenwriter Andrew Kevin Walker was asked about the various name drops in the movie which was a reference to classic sitcoms to which he said,
“I didn’t want it to be the same name, because, even if that’s his alias, it becomes his name. So it just made sense to shuffle the deck of names we used every time. Fincher, to his credit and in his genius, made sure to really hit them.”
He continued,
“David Fincher really makes sure that you see and hear not just last names but full names. It’s one of my favorite notions about this film that there will be 20-year-old sitting beside some 50-year-old and the 20-year-old will be wonder, ‘why in the hell is this person laughing every 10-15 minutes’?”
The movie is based on the French graphic novel by Alexis Nolent and in his interview with Empire, actor Fassbender said that he was salivated to do a movie like The Killer adding that there is suspense and intrigue, a slow drip and the kind of movie, he likes. He lastly added that he’s just trying to understand the mindset of a sociopath.
The Killer is streaming on Netflix.
