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Trifecta imperfecta
A kid who's never known anything but the racetrack gets himself in trouble with a fast-money scheme in the less clever than confusing "A Killing."
By JOSHUA TANZER
Offoffoff.com
When we first see Max, he's a tot tout — the youngster's dad
brings him to the racetrack to predict the winning horses. Given this
talent and this father, Max the man apparently has grown up with the track
in his blood, crooks for role models, and little sense of how to make an
honest buck in the world. When pop loses control of his gambling habit and
is about to lose his house, naturally Max starts thinking up an underhanded
scheme for repaying the debt.
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| | | A KILLING | Written and directed by: Alex Klymko.
Cast: Chris Knoblock, Jennifer Corby, Addison Cook, Bob Balogh, Richard V. Licata, Christine Karl, Paul Goncalves, Josyf Hayda, Austap Wolfgang.
Cinematography: Abe Schrager.
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This dysfunctional father-son relationship is the most interesting
thing about "A Killing." At one point, when dad searches for the highest
possible praise for his son, it's that the boy always could pick the
horses. It's interesting to see how the dad's pathetic life has shaped his
son for the worse. It's equally interesting to wonder whether the
filmmakers meant either of these characters as heroes in our story, because
they're not.
The acting and production of "A Killing" are quite professional.
(Even sex scenes are cleverly staged to mask the probable use of body
doubles, using a fish to block the view!) But they can't overcome a confounding script in which loose ends
abound — dead bodies vanish, people know things they shouldn't, some
plot lines start nowhere, others end nowhere. The confusion makes it difficult
to enjoy anything else about the film.
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JANUARY 31, 2000
OFFOFFOFF.COM • THE GUIDE TO ALTERNATIVE NEW YORK
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