3.5/5 Good Kill Ever since drones have been invented, they have been a hot-button item. Whether it be their ability to survey people without their knowledge or how easy it is to weaponize them, just about everyone has an opinion. It is surprising, then, that so few films have been made about them. Sure, drones factor into the plots of tons of films - the Rock battles one in Furious 7, for Pete’s sake - and are even being used to shoot footage for movies, but I am talking about a standalone film dedicated to nothing but the topic. Last year saw the release of Drone, a Norwegian documentary about the American use of drones; but with Good Kill, Andrew Niccol has finally given us a drone-centric narrative feature worth our time. The plot is rather simple. Major Thomas Egan (Ethan Hawke) is an ex-pilot who served six tours in the air force before he was transferred to a Las Vegas military base where he sits all day in a repurposed storage container bombing people from thousands of miles away. The film never lets us forget how easy it is for soldiers to carry out these kill missions; they are essentially playing Call of Duty, but every pull of trigger has real world consequences. This weighty ethical battle weighs on no one harder than Egan, who finds solace in a bottle and takes his inner turmoil out on his family, fronted by his wife Molly (January Jones, recently freed from Mad Men). | Director: Andrew Niccol Starring: Ethan Hawke, January Jones, Zoë Kravitz, Bruce Greenwood Writer: Andrew Niccol |
If the plot is simple, then the conclusions are even more so. Based on how a good deal of Niccol’s script is dedicated to sermonizing, it is not hard to guess the decision Egan ends up making. Even if it would have been nice to not have the message dangling out in the open, it’s hard to hate on Good Kill for its unpredictability. In between its blatant sermon and its inevitable ending lies some fantastic character work and phenomenal performances, most notably from Hawke.
Ethan Hawke is one of the greatest actors of his generation - maybe of all time. He has proven over and over that he can do just about anything, from the chatterboxes Linklater writes for him to more traditional genre fare like The Purge and January’s Predestination. His strength lies in the fact that, no matter who he is playing, he can always find his character’s beating heart. Major Egan spends a great deal of Good Kill scowling and looking off into the sunset, but as liquor lubricates his shut lips and reserved actions, Hawke begins to let Egan’s tortured soul seep through the cracks. His refusal to blow it out all at once may be the film’s greatest strength, making up for its obvious message.
Hawke is not alone in his excellence. Though wives in military movies are usually the quiet, long-suffering types that support their husbands no matter what, Niccol draws Molly as a strong woman with a mind of her own. She likes to dress up, go dancing with her friends, and can only take so much of her husband’s silent treatment. These war movies too often paint wartime suffering as a hardship only felt by the men on the fronts, but it can be just as hard on the women singlehandedly holding together their families. It goes without saying that Jones kills the role. Zoë Kravitz is also impressive as Egan’s new co-pilot. She may not be as fleshed out as Molly, but the presence of strong women is impressive enough.
I doubt Good Kill will be remembered as a classic. If you don’t ready my review and rent it on iTunes, I doubt you will ever hear of it again. That does not mean it is worth ignoring - that would be all the junk playing at the theaters now, save Mad Max. It may be a small indie-drama, but it is most certainly a keeper.
(Available on iTunes)
Ethan Hawke is one of the greatest actors of his generation - maybe of all time. He has proven over and over that he can do just about anything, from the chatterboxes Linklater writes for him to more traditional genre fare like The Purge and January’s Predestination. His strength lies in the fact that, no matter who he is playing, he can always find his character’s beating heart. Major Egan spends a great deal of Good Kill scowling and looking off into the sunset, but as liquor lubricates his shut lips and reserved actions, Hawke begins to let Egan’s tortured soul seep through the cracks. His refusal to blow it out all at once may be the film’s greatest strength, making up for its obvious message.
Hawke is not alone in his excellence. Though wives in military movies are usually the quiet, long-suffering types that support their husbands no matter what, Niccol draws Molly as a strong woman with a mind of her own. She likes to dress up, go dancing with her friends, and can only take so much of her husband’s silent treatment. These war movies too often paint wartime suffering as a hardship only felt by the men on the fronts, but it can be just as hard on the women singlehandedly holding together their families. It goes without saying that Jones kills the role. Zoë Kravitz is also impressive as Egan’s new co-pilot. She may not be as fleshed out as Molly, but the presence of strong women is impressive enough.
I doubt Good Kill will be remembered as a classic. If you don’t ready my review and rent it on iTunes, I doubt you will ever hear of it again. That does not mean it is worth ignoring - that would be all the junk playing at the theaters now, save Mad Max. It may be a small indie-drama, but it is most certainly a keeper.
(Available on iTunes)