I Hired a Contract Killer (1990)

Plenty to Like, Plenty to Dislike

Instant Favorite.

Excellent adaptation.

It's complicated... I really like the directing, acting and writing but, there are issues with the way it's shot that I just can't deny. As much as I love the storytelling and the fantastic performance but, there are also certain scenes that didn't need to exist.

The premise of this film is funny and odd: an employee of a British company loses his job, and because there is nothing to life for, he decides to end it right there. But all the attempts on his own life fail. Still determined, he decides to hire a contract killer - and have himself murdered.While waiting for the executioner in his apartment, he grows bored and decides to visit a bar across the street. There he indulges himself, for the first time, in hard liquor and cigarettes. As if this wouldn't be upsetting enough to his short remaining life span, he meets a flower girl with blood-red lips. Resolutely, he demands that she sits next to him, and inevitably falls in love. All over sudden, life isn't so despicable anymore - what to do? The contract killer is still on his heels...Kaurismäki takes this story as an occasion to revive his cinematic universe: people standing at a bar and slowly lifting a glass of beer, others sitting in front of worn-out wallpapers while smoking a cigarette. The camera lingers as if those quiet moments were a subtle study of humans on the fringes of society. They are connected through the central theme of the film, but the main focus lies on Henri Boulanger, the former employee. Stoically and with a deadpan face, he undergoes the metamorphosis of his existence, subtly expressing his newfound hunger for life. Standing in a bar and listening to an unknown guitarist (Joe Strummer), he lifts his drink and takes a long gulp. From all we know, this is the equivalent of a spontaneous expression of joy in Finland. You are required to observe and listen quite carefully, but if you do, this very refrained way of celebrating the small pleasures of everyday life is not less powerful, especially against the background of Henri's rather meaningless existence. Kaursimäki doesn't need any loud effects or tearful scenes to convince us, he doesn't even need dialogue, of which there is very little in the film. He tells the story purely through the images and the strong, yet sparing expressions of his protagonists. The lighting of the scenes is somber and full of strong contrasts, giving the film it's own unique visual mark. I Hired a Contract Killer is like a slow burning fire that still provides warmth long after the big fireworks are spent.

I only saw this movie once, over a decade ago. It was horrible. Noone laughed or even smiled in it, all the scenery was bleak, the story was depressing, and it almost made the audience feel suicidal as well (like the protagonist).But, with each passing year, I like this movie more. I'm very much looking forward to seeing it again. It actually is a great comedy, but it took me years to understand that.Should you see it? Definitely. I still remember this obscure movie after over 10 years and although I hated it at first. It inspired me enough to write this comment here. About how many movies can you say that?

I have nothing against slow movies, Kaurism{ki's 'Take care of your scarf Tatjana', being an example of how void and silence (a Finnish trait) can be used to good effect. However, in this case, if the empty parts were extracted from this film, to contract it to about 15 minutes, then it still wouldn't be a good film. It smacks of being nothing more than just an amateurish student project. The acting is wooden, apart from the lead, who just endears himself to the viewer with his depressing delivery to make his role stick out just a little.One for film students to watch and learn from, but not entertainment.

Finnish movies are often blamed (at least by Finns themselves) for containing very weak emotions and total lack of good humor. In my opinion, this movie gives a great deal of both.The main character is an immigrant who loses his job and while swimming in depression, he tries to kill himself (and fails on it, too). The movie gets great after the point where our hero hires an contract killer to kill him. Since his life is already lost (and the killer is going to kill him anytime), he begins to sink more and more into misery just when... he falls in love.Suddenly, life isn't so bad anymore - too bad that the killer is still shadowing him and just trying to finish the contract they've made.I just simply LOVE this movie, it is so funny and yet so good parody about all Finnish customs and traditions.