Kill Me Again

The psychopath Vince Miller (Michael Madsen) and his girlfriend Fay Forrester (Joanne Whalley-Kilmer) kill a mobster and rob his wallet with a large amount. Then Fay double-crosses the abusive Vince and flees with the money to Reno. She hires the needy private investigator Jack Andrews (Val Kilmer), who grieves the death of his wife and owes ten thousand-dollars to loan sharks, to simulate her death telling that she wants to start a new life without her boyfriend. He accepts the offer and produces her fake death. However she betrays Andrews and escapes to Las Vegas without paying the rest of the money, leaving him as the prime suspect of her death for the police. Andrews finds Fay in Las Vegas and they have a love affair. Meanwhile the police, the mobsters and Vince hunt them down.

Despite the flaws, "Kill Me Again" is a great neo-noir film with a sordid story. Michael Madsen is perfect in the role of a psychopath scum as well Val Kilmer in the role of a smalltime private investigator. Joanne Whalley does not have the profile of femme fatale but has a good performance. However, the plot point with Fay teaming up with Vince against Andrews after letting him hide the money is flawed. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Mate-me Outra Vez" ("Kill Me Again")

Somehow the dark, horrifically-empty aspect of modern American life - which is itself especially starkly on view in NV - is precisely nailed by this film. The film might aptly be subtitled - "The Illusion of Love in a Dead Culture like ours". Yes, outwardly, it's about the astonishing betrayals and cruelty everybody - good or bad - will go through to get their hands on the attache case with the mob's money. But inwardly it's about the search for a love that has sunk irretrievably below the surface of one of Nevada's beautiful lakes. But it is on the "inner" level that this movie really struck at me. It is set in Nevada: Winnemucca, Reno, Vegas, Overton etc. Well-developed, uniquely-identified, memorable characters; excellent acting by all; crisp, often amusing, dialogue; well-plotted and paced with surprising twists and turns, and a surprising climax. The haunting background music (William Olvis) alone is worth the seeing the movie for.

Val Kilmer and Joanne Walley Kilmer make a great team in this absorbing movie of cross, double cross, triple cross. The editing was a little choppy but not enough to really detract from this absorbing story. Good looking Joanne Whalley cons low-rent private eye, Kilmer, into helping her fake her death to escape her ostensibly murderous ex-boyfriend, played by Michael Madsen. Once the plan is in motion Whalley constantly shifts allegiance depending upon who seems to have the upper hand. This movie actually does not pretend to be profound or politically deep. For me that's a plus as I get enough politics every day and just want some good escapist fare.

Overall rating: 8 out of 10.

Even to this day, it's regrettable that the film noir tradition had to die out at the end of the fifties; but all is not quite lost, as since the release of Chinatown in 1974, there has been a steady stream of 'neo-noir' thrillers being released, and while generally not as good as their ancestral counterparts; they usually make for decent films. Kill Me Again is one such thriller; that, while suffering from a number of problems, does a good job in reminding us film fans of the classics from the forties and fifties by creating a good noir atmosphere, which is fused with a typical noir plot line. The film that it takes the most influence from definitely seems to be Billy Wilder's classic "Double Indemnity", as it follows themes of a man being dragged into a plot by a woman and death for profit. The plot follows a woman who escapes her jealous boyfriend after the pair steals over eight hundred grand from some mobsters. He isn't too pleased about her taking his cash, however, and despite her efforts of hiding by hiring a private detective to fake her death; jealous boyfriend remains on her tail.

The film starts off well - the plot is set up nicely, and hints at a thrilling ride to come. The middle, too, is well done and remains thrilling while taking in the familiar noir elements. It's the ending that really, really lets the film down, however. The ending is probably the most important part for any film - as it is this that is going to stay in the audience's mind after the credits role; but the filmmakers here haven't realised that. The twist is one the most clear cut cases of having a twist in the film just for the sake of having one. It makes absolutely no sense given what has gone before, and this is matched by the abrupt ending that follows straight after. And then, just so it gets a little bit worse; we get 'treated' to a sappy final conclusion. To it's credit, the cast does well; with Val Kilmer taking the starring role. I'm not a massive fan of this guy, but he usually performs well, and he looks the part here. He is joined by his then-wife, Joanne Whalley and the always excellent Michael Madsen tops off the central trio. It's always great to see Madsen in films, and the role here is an obvious prelude to his career making performance in Reservoir Dogs. Overall, this isn't an essential film - but it's good up until the ending, and I enjoyed it so it gets a thumbs up on the whole.

Two crooks (Joanne Whalley-Kilmer and Michael Madsen) kill a man and steal a briefcase full of money. Then Whalley-Kilmer knocks Madsen out and runs off to Las Vegas with all of it. When there she hires a private investigator (Val Kilmer) to fake her death to get Madsen off her trail. Naturally everything goes wrong.

Laid back film noir. It's well done with an intricate plot and plenty of double crosses. It's beautifully shot too. Still I wasn't too crazy about it. The movie is just TOO laid back. Everything unfolds in such a quiet easy-going way that it lacks the tension that a really good noir gives you. It's not the fault of the cast. Kilmer is good and his then wife Whalley-Kilmer is excellent but the direction and editing is done in such a leisurely fashion that it mutes their acting. Even the violence is done in a casual laid-back way! It's not a total disaster and is worth catching but I couldn't stop thinking of how really good this could have been. A 7.

As the fan of modern noirs which are often called Neo-Noirs I must say John Dahl knows how to make one. He is master of this genre. Good thing about him is that he focuses more on making movie entertaining rather than other aspects. Title in review is one of the example but IMDb users again have not done justice with another Neo-noir and rated it very low as usual.

Movie is a wholesome entertainment. Look and feel of the movie is fantastically dark. Putting the highway in the movie even made it best. Characters are well constructed and they all mean business and also are desperate. Some great twists and turns but if you see lot of suspense thrillers then probably you will guess them beforehand. But still that doesn't mean you will not enjoy the movie. This is sort of movie which will glue to your seat for whole time. Pace of movie is good and you will Not find a single boring moment in it.

I strongly recommend this movie to neo-noir lovers and also highway thriller lovers will equally enjoy it. So watch it.