Director: Jerzy Skolimowski
Screenplay: Jerzy Skolimowski, Ewa Piaskowska
Producer: Jerzy Skolimowski, Ewa Piaskowska
Starring: Vincent Gallo, Emmanuelle Seigner
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Running time: 83 min.

(3/5)

I’m not sure what director Jerzy Skolimowski had in mind when he envisioned the set-up behind Essential Killing. Pushing buttons was definitely at the top of the list but beyond that, there’s little point to the fact that the man we’re following through the wilderness of Eastern Europe happens to be a member of the Taliban. I’m more than willing to look at both sides of the coin but even I was a little put-off by Skolimowski’s back story which only provides the most skeletal of premises for setting a man loose in the wilderness with a team of hunters tracking him down.

Thankfully, the set-up is quick and for the most part, just as quickly forgotten when Mohammed wakes to find his convoy overturned and an opening for escape. His training kicks in, especially at the beginning of the escape when a military team is following at close range but once lost in the wilderness, the question of who he is is quickly forgotten and the most important aspect of the story is also his single motivation: survival. The question of Mohammed’s history does come up occasionally in ill conceived flashbacks that add little to his motivation; if anything, they only accentuate the fact that the initial set-up is questionable at best.

Once Mohammed enters survival mode, Essential Killing transforms into a taught thriller, a story of a man against the elements. This isn’t The Fugitive but Skolimowski’s film is an arthouse companion to Andrew Davis’ thriller. For starters, Skolimowski’s film is nearly free of dialogue with the exception of the occasional run-in with the locals but as for Mohammed speaking – he doesn’t utter a word. There’s also the fact that Mohammed’s chances of getting anywhere near home are slim to none. It’s not clear that he knows where he is though he obviously knows he’s somewhere far from home and yet he continues to run. There’s no motivation for it other than not being under American, or as is now the case European, custody and I found myself curious to know more. I can appreciate the restraint shown by Skolimowski and co-writer Ewa Piaskowska but I wished their deviations, the flashbacks that Mohammed occasionally has, explained more.

There isn’t much to love in a film as bleak as Essential Killing but the cinematography, occasionally breathtaking, and Vincent Gallo’s performance are the marked differences. It’s unlikely any other actor would have taken on this role but Gallo doesn’t simply take it: he breathes life into it. His characterization of Mohammed is the only reason the film is so successful at creating any emotional connection to a character who has all of the cards stacked against him from the beginning. Limited to his actions and his facial and physical performance, Gallo elicits an emotional response from the viewer. I found myself torn between the knowledge that there was no way that Mohammed would ever make it home and the hope that perhaps he could find some respite.

I didn’t love Essential Killing and I found Jerzy Skolimowski’s attempt to humanize Mohammed a flailing and eventually failed attempt. Gallo provides quite a bit of emotional connection but it’s all him and I found the connection worked despite the filmmaker’s ill attempts at forcing it. The film does make for an engaging and exciting chase thriller – if you can manage to overlook the subtext that doesn’t really work but none the less finds itself re-emerging at various points throughout the story.

Essential Killing is available on DVD and Blu-Ray on July 5th.

DVD Extras: Zip.