Humbersi
The first must-see film of the year.
Siflutter
It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.
Kaydan Christian
A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.
Bob
This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.
isleworld-1
Jon is a brutal gangster whose conscience is like an amputated limb--it's gone, but sometimes he thinks it is still there. As he maims and murders we learn little about Jon other than he lives in London, that he has a first name, and that he is a leg breaker, assassin, and apprentice sadist. Despite the thin biography, at the close of Killing Kind we know Jon.He ain't pretty. Director Paul Sorossy gives a taut, grim, and gritty glimpse into the lives of mobsters who transform violence into performance art. As a sadistic crime boss boasts, these men embrace their brutality. Jon, played brilliantly by Andrew Howard, finds this difficult after he reconnects with childhood friends who are a reminder of a more innocent time. We don't get a lot of details about Jon's past, but the indications are it didn't involve torture. The story focuses on the present and the conflict Jon experiences as he is torn between his old comrades and his current terror mentors.Set in the underworld of working class Britain, Killing Kind avoids the maudlin affectations Hollywood attributes to hit men with mid-life crises. Forget any Road To Perdition-type father and son relationships: this is a tale of the devil and his particularly worthy disciple Jon. Director Sorossy manages to cram mayhem into almost every other scene yet it never comes across as gratuitous or cartoonish. Sorossy, who borrows heavily from director Michael Mann in a few of the more memorable and graphically violent scenes, makes certain the audience never forgets how repulsive Jon can be. Any sympathy Jon has generated evaporates with an ending that is both intelligent and disgusting. As for that IL' debbil Satan, he appears in the form of Jon's mob boss, a sixtyish, heavily tattooed sociopath given to Goethe-like pronouncements that could have been barked from the neighbor's dog to Son of Sam. The Tattooed Man, portrayed by David Calder, steals the show as he instructs Jon on the finer points of torture, contract killing, and the meaning of life. Calder's character is one of the more menacing since Brian Cox nailed Hannibal Lecter in the aforementioned Mann's masterwork, Manhunter. The Tattooed Man's dialogue crackles as he proves to be the Philosopher King of sadism. Geraldine O'Rawe also stands out as Jon's love interest. Her role as a feminine savior, though, is overshadowed by Calder's portrayal of the devil in the form of an English mobster. Great atmosphere and brilliant cinematography set the stage for the topnotch acting that transforms what could have been an ordinary gangster flick into a powerful exploration of the nature of evil. As Sorossy reminds us, Satan still has the upper hand in this world.
wado101
Love this film! Great job for the budget, and some good acting.Andrew Howard and David Calder really impressed me, especially with their connection as 'father and son'. Congratulations on the awards!
hopethisonesnottaken
Ok, don't let the title throw you off. It's not so bad I want to vomit. It's because it was so good that I'm physically feeling nauseated at the moment. It's not because of blood or gore. This movie is so disturbing it's ridiculous. This is why I prefer thrillers to most other horror movies though. Suspense in a realistic situation is so much more motivating than blood, guts, and monsters. Man, it's hard to put into words the emotions that I feel after finishing this movie. I don't think my wife could watch it to be honest. I'm glad I watched it while she's at work today. I'm not normally moved by movies much. In fact, I think this is the first movie about a hitman that I've ever watched and didn't have some fun thoughts about killing people afterwards.(yes, I have a morbid sense of humor) DISTURBING is the perfect 1 word description for this movie if you need one.
Daniel Clark
I saw Mr. In-Between at the Toronto International Film Festival. You would expect that it would be impossible to remember any one movie of the 47 I saw at the film festival. The movie made an immediate impression, and one that stuck throughout the festival.I rated every movie I saw and wrote a review in my program. I gave this a 10 as soon as I saw it, the only 10 I gave at the film festival. This is an uncompromising movie. It is beautifully shot and takes chances. Most of all it is true. When the ending occurs, one that is totally unexpected as a movie-goer, you have to go YES, that is EXACTLY what this character would do.It was brilliant. A fantastic character study, with a great story, and it turns the mobster/hitman genre on its ear. Fantastic. I loved. See it! But be prepared to be shocked and challenged.Director Paul Sarossy worked for years with Atom Egoyan, no surprise. He has learned a lot from Egoyan, encompassed all his strengths and avoided his tendency for oblique minutae. Just the right hit of minimalistic flavour mixed with pulsing colour. You will NEVER be bored.