“I guess I am begging.”
My breath caught when my cousin Kerry O’Malley said this line in David Fincher’s The Killer, now streaming on Netflix. Her face, her tone, her collapsed body language, was all so open and so desperate, and she knew it was useless to beg (she knew whose hands she was in), but she had to plead for her life.
The whole sequence was heartbreaking and yet also fascinating on a psychological level.
Who is this woman? She’s a nice lady living in a nice little house working in an office in her muted-colored Talbot’s clothes … and yet …
“I’m not a bad person.”
The second key line reading.
The character’s whole life is in that line. Kerry didn’t put too much on it. She didn’t INSIST she wasn’t a bad person. She didn’t use the line to plead with him. By that point, she was beyond begging. When she says, “I’m not a bad person”, she is past even worrying about whether or not it is true. She herself knows it probably isn’t true. But she has spent her life justifying her actions.
Through such people, horrors are made possible. The Eichmanns of the world.
This is what Kerry brought to the role.
So proud of her, especially since she’s been on strike for months and months, enduring financial hardship, etc. She deserves this success. Hers is the standout scene.
“I guess I am begging …”
When I saw “Kerry O’Malley” in the credits I was wondering whether she was any relation of yours. Bravo to your cousin. Though it feels a little odd to describe so much grim business this way, that movie was a lot of fun. Good, nasty procedural.
It was a lot of fun, I agree! The We Work hideout was particularly funny to me.
Love you so much.
Love you!!
Good movie. She is remarkable. But she comes from a remarkable family. I would love to see the family tree. For instance, to whom does Caleb “belong”? I know about your cousin Mike, and some of the others. Love your sister’s kids. But there are many of you, and all are interesting. Fassbinder is so oddly good, too. Hope all is well. It’s getting cold in NH.🙂
who’s Caleb?
anyway, kudos to Kerry. It’s been fun watching this release and watching everyone talking about it! Fincher does good stuff!
I came here hoping you’d made a post about The Killer! I saw it last night at the movies and loved it. Pure entertainment, slick and funny and gorgeous. Everybody is great and I’m glad that you highlight Kerry because I mean obviously there’s the O’Malley aspect but also as you say, of the perpetrators, she’s the relatable one! She’s key! There was such a good touch right at the end where she picked up her bag to leave her home office — such an ordinary gesture. She’s not a steroided rapist murder dude or a billionaire or mastermind or a Swinton, she is a nice middle class lady who actively chooses her clean-hands role, and the way she instantly shatters when brought into contact with the reality of her choices is sooooo good. My other favourite critic wrote that her ultimate fate is “sign of collegial respect between mid-level workers” which I thought was so funny, for the theme of whose hands get dirty and whose don’t in our bloodless experience of an Amazon Prime world. If one of the rules is don’t have empathy, what does it mean that the secretary and the dog are the only beings (outside of his hideaway family) who he has empathy for? Like, he even kills the taxi driver!
Anyway I think you can tell I loved it. Bunch of experts in their fields collaborating at the top of their game to deliver a movie where you watch a guy sit down and walk around a lot is my bliss haha. Fassbender’s empty eyes were hall of fame level.
// and the way she instantly shatters when brought into contact with the reality of her choices is sooooo good. //
Yes!!
I also wonder: has somewhere in the back of her mind she allowed herself to imagine this moment? or is in she so much denial it never even came into her brain? The immediacy of her response makes me feel like she knew all along – somewhere – that her life would catch up to her.
// “sign of collegial respect between mid-level workers” // I love that so much!
Jessie – that review you linked to is so good.
The immediacy of her response makes me feel like she knew all along – somewhere – that her life would catch up to her.
YES — she knows who he is the second he arrives, not as a harbinger but as what the harbinger…..um, bings. Her instant recognition and bodily terror really sells his deadly reputation.
Vern is always good value and reviews a wide range of stuff (with a focus on horror and action) — I especially appreciate him when my opinion differs from his because he’s quintessentially a good faith reviewer. I’ve never commented because his commentariat is intimidating lol but I recommend his archive to anyone who happens to be reading this!
Sheila, apologies. I meant Cashel. Senior moment.
Your cousin’s performance was just highlighted in the Times:
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/02/18/magazine/oscars-2024-great-performances.html
well of course you know I must know already! The O’Malley clan is very close. the family text chain has been about nothing else for the last two days. So exciting!!
we’re all very proud. so glad her work has been recognized – and I love Wesley Morris.