Rating:
18
BD/DVD Release Date:
26th August 2013 (UK)
Director:
Antonio Campos
Cast:
Brady Corbet, Mati Diop, Lila Salet
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Simon Killer is interesting film directed by Antonio Campos. Antonio previously directed Afterschool and produced the critically acclaimed indie film Martha Marcy May Marlene; which admitting I haven’t seen either yet. It’s a surprise addition to Eureka’s ever growing Masters of Cinema range for a couple reasons one is it’s a relatively recent film and the other it’s a weird little thriller. It does though have some interesting artistic flourishes which might be why it appealed to Eureka so much who also theatrically distributed it in the UK; IFC are doing the US release.
Simon Killer naturally is a about a guy called Simon. He is on holiday in Paris after finishing his degree in some to do with the connection between the human eye and brain. Simon has also broken up with his long-term girlfriend and is wandering aimlessly in the streets of Paris. One night he meets 2 French girls after seeing a film. They think he is a bit of a weirdo and they go their separate ways on the metro but will bump into them later on.
Simon as a problem he wants to get laid really badly so he starts walking around. He eventually meets a pimp who tells him to do a bar where girls will do anything to him for a price (which turns out to be €150). He gets very connected to this one hooker and they start a relationship, which eventually blossoms into him moving in with her. He suggests she should use a camera phone to film her having with her clients cause then she can blackmail them. Naturally this all ends pretty badly for all concerned.
The film has a very fine moody performance from its lead Brady Corbet who was in the fantastic Mysterious Skin about a decade ago. He has also been in Melancholia and the aforementioned Martha Marcy May Marlene. The rest of the cast give perfectly decent performances but it’s very much a film that rests on Brady’s shoulders since he is almost in every man.
Campos is a very good visual stylist and the film has a interesting colour palette and some interesting shots which obviously are to evoke what’s going on in Simon’s damaged mind. The film also has some of the most realistic sex scenes (not in a explicit way) I’ve ever seen on screen. The story however is not the most original. It seems all too unrealistic and has a twist that you could see coming after the unfortunate incident.
Despite the film’s many flaws it’s a perfectly decent little indie thriller with some really interesting soundtrack choices including LCD Soundsystem and that synth pop reggae hit “It Makes a Muscle to fall in love”. It also have a lot of synth-pop which seems to be the thing after than wonderful soundtrack for Drive but this trend needs to end now.