 |
| DIRECTED BY |
| Robert Siodmak
|
| STARRING |
| Burt Lancaster |
| Ava Gardner |
| Edmond O'Brien |
| Albert Dekker |
| Sam Levene |
 |
Who said Tarantino invented this sort of stuff? It�s refreshing to see a film from so many years ago that�s brazen enough to start its story off in a surprising, still unconventional way � showing us the killing of its leading man right away and then weaving its way back through time with a creatively chopped-up narrative. In this case, that leading man is Burt Lancaster in a very definitive �tough guy� performance, and he�s very well supported with an ensemble cast that includes the stellar Edmond O�Brien and the occasionally-phony-yet-remarkably-beautiful Ava Gardner.
Ernest Hemingway�s story - if it was adapted faithfully here - does take patience to follow accurately, and Siodmak seemed to realize that and therefore made sure that everything would be explained through lots and lots of talking. The verboseness of �The Killers� occasionally lets the film get a little boring, but the inventiveness of its narrative construction more than makes up for any downsides.
The blaring score sometimes works but more times goes over the top in terms of sheer melodrama. The film itself, however, is a lavishly constructed black-and-white production and it�s quite difficult to ignore the appeal of its cool noir sleekness.
