Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Moderate
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- Mild
- deadpan
- melancholic
- witty
- quiet evening
- arthouse film night
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Henri's failed suicide attempt and subsequent murder contract are treated with laconic, monotone restraint.
Meeting flower-seller Margaret gives Henri a reason to live after redundancy and despair.
The film relocates Kaurismäki's working-class aesthetic to drab London buildings and dockside environments.
Henri tries to cancel the hired killing but discovers that the bar has been demolished and the killer is unreachable.
Films like I Hired a Contract Killer, and why
Drifting Clouds
deadpan working-class comedy, romantic longing, and an emotionally restrained auteur style
The Match Factory Girl
bleakly comic outsider romance with minimalist dialogue and working-class protagonists
Buffalo '66
dry crime-romance absurdism centered on emotionally isolated characters and understated hope
The Limits of Control
romantic fatalism, laconic humor, and a marginal protagonist searching for renewed purpose
Movie Details
- Director
- Aki Kaurismäki
- Release Date
- 1990-10-12
- Runtime
- 80 min
- Rating
- 6.9 / 10 (236)
Cast
- Jean-Pierre Léaud
- Margi Clarke
- Kenneth Colley
- T.R. Bowen
- Imogen Claire
- Angela Walsh
- Cyril Epstein
- Nicky Tesco
- Charles Cork
- Michael O'Hagan
Common questions
- What is I Hired a Contract Killer about?
- A suicidal redundant worker hires his own killer, then falls in love before he can cancel the contract.
- What is I Hired a Contract Killer like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of I Hired a Contract Killer as measured, its intensity as moderate and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is I Hired a Contract Killer violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in I Hired a Contract Killer as mild.
- Which films are like I Hired a Contract Killer?
- Films with a similar feel include Drifting Clouds, The Match Factory Girl, Buffalo '66, and The Limits of Control.
- How long is I Hired a Contract Killer?
- I Hired a Contract Killer runs 80 minutes.
