The Postcard Killings
2.5/4
Starring: Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Famke Janssen, Cush Jumbo, Joachim Krol, Naomi Hattrick, Ruairi O'Connor
Not Rated (probable R for Grisly Violent Content, Disturbing Sexuality, and Language)
"The Postcard Killngs" is a mix of the bizarre, the lurid and the deranged. This is a movie that will throw anything, literally anything at the screen. I have to admit that some part of me is in awe at the audacity of director Danis Tanovic. Especially because, as ludicrous as the film gets, it's never boring and occasionally suspenseful. That's a good thing because the plot can barely hold itself together.
Jacob Kanon (Morgan) is on a trip to London that he would give anything not to be on. He's there to identify the bodies of his daughter and her new husband. They were both viciously murdered on their honeymoon. Kanon is a detective and he's determined to find their murderer and bring him to justice. Soon he finds himself embroiled in an international manhunt for a serial killer who is traveling all over Europe and leaving dead bodies in their wake.
This story is so convoluted that I can barely begin to describe what happens in it. Without going into spoiler territory, I will say that it includes: a serial killer, financial crimes, incest, child abuse, parental grief and art. It goes without saying then that the film frequently defies logic and doesn't always make sense. Still, I was engaged enough to wonder how things were going to turn out.
The acting is adequate, but not standout. Jeffrey Dean Morgan is quite good as a man who is a mixture of steely determination and barely controlled grief. I felt his pain from his loss and his need to find justice. Famke Janssen has a scene where she goes over-the-top, but she's good. Cush Jumbo is adequate. The rest of the cast do solid jobs. Special mention has to go to Naomi Battrick and Ruairi O'Connor, who pull off roles that are, shall we say, complicated.
Most movies require a suspension of disbelief to one degree or another. "The Postcard Killings" takes it to a whole new level. Like, surely there is some sort of jurisdictional problem allowing an American investigator to walk into an international manhunt and take over the investigation? Or what about a grieving father investigating the murder of his own daughter? And how is Jacob able to fly all over Europe in the span of a few days (apparently for conversations that could have been don over the phone with less fuss)? Wouldn't he get jet lag? And how expensive is that? Not to mention the passage of time.
"The Postcard Killings" is patently absurd. But that doesn't make it bad. In fact, one could make the argument that it fits into the "guilty pleasure" category. It has tension and it isn't always predictable. And there is a twist halfway through the film that took me by surprise. This is the kind of movie where the ending twist, ridiculous and cliche as it is, is only forgivable because no movie this ludicrous and desperate to shock could be complete without it.
I have my standards, but sometimes they must be bent for a movie like this.
Starring: Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Famke Janssen, Cush Jumbo, Joachim Krol, Naomi Hattrick, Ruairi O'Connor
Not Rated (probable R for Grisly Violent Content, Disturbing Sexuality, and Language)
"The Postcard Killngs" is a mix of the bizarre, the lurid and the deranged. This is a movie that will throw anything, literally anything at the screen. I have to admit that some part of me is in awe at the audacity of director Danis Tanovic. Especially because, as ludicrous as the film gets, it's never boring and occasionally suspenseful. That's a good thing because the plot can barely hold itself together.
Jacob Kanon (Morgan) is on a trip to London that he would give anything not to be on. He's there to identify the bodies of his daughter and her new husband. They were both viciously murdered on their honeymoon. Kanon is a detective and he's determined to find their murderer and bring him to justice. Soon he finds himself embroiled in an international manhunt for a serial killer who is traveling all over Europe and leaving dead bodies in their wake.
This story is so convoluted that I can barely begin to describe what happens in it. Without going into spoiler territory, I will say that it includes: a serial killer, financial crimes, incest, child abuse, parental grief and art. It goes without saying then that the film frequently defies logic and doesn't always make sense. Still, I was engaged enough to wonder how things were going to turn out.
The acting is adequate, but not standout. Jeffrey Dean Morgan is quite good as a man who is a mixture of steely determination and barely controlled grief. I felt his pain from his loss and his need to find justice. Famke Janssen has a scene where she goes over-the-top, but she's good. Cush Jumbo is adequate. The rest of the cast do solid jobs. Special mention has to go to Naomi Battrick and Ruairi O'Connor, who pull off roles that are, shall we say, complicated.
Most movies require a suspension of disbelief to one degree or another. "The Postcard Killings" takes it to a whole new level. Like, surely there is some sort of jurisdictional problem allowing an American investigator to walk into an international manhunt and take over the investigation? Or what about a grieving father investigating the murder of his own daughter? And how is Jacob able to fly all over Europe in the span of a few days (apparently for conversations that could have been don over the phone with less fuss)? Wouldn't he get jet lag? And how expensive is that? Not to mention the passage of time.
"The Postcard Killings" is patently absurd. But that doesn't make it bad. In fact, one could make the argument that it fits into the "guilty pleasure" category. It has tension and it isn't always predictable. And there is a twist halfway through the film that took me by surprise. This is the kind of movie where the ending twist, ridiculous and cliche as it is, is only forgivable because no movie this ludicrous and desperate to shock could be complete without it.
I have my standards, but sometimes they must be bent for a movie like this.
Comments
Post a Comment