KISS OR KILL
A Film Review by James Berardinelli
RATING: ** OUT OF ****
Australia, 1997 U.S. Release Date: 11/21/97 (limited) Running Length: 1:33 MPAA Classification: R (Violence, profanity, sex) Theatrical Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Cast: Frances O'Connor, Matt Day, Chris Haywood, Barry Langrishe, Andrew S. Gilbert, Barry Otto, Max Cullen Director: Bill Bennett Producers: Bill Bennett, Jennifer Bennett Screenplay: Bill Bennett Cinematography: Malcolm McCulloch U.S. Distributor: October Films
KISS OR KILL is a chaotic-but-pointless exercise in mediocrity. It belongs to the ever-increasing group of post-Tarantino road pictures, where a modern-day Bonnie and Clyde go on the run, mouthing pseudo- clever dialogue while the body count piles up. Inevitably, they are being chased by both the good guys and the bad guys, and the final confrontation usually involves gunplay and bloodshed. But, while KISS OR KILL strives for the relatively modest goal of being an Australian TRUE ROMANCE, it never quite ascends to that level, remaining instead mired in the pit that claimed titles like LOVE AND A .45.
The first problem with KISS OR KILL is that there aren't any vital characters. To be sure, Nikki (Frances O'Connor) and Al (Matt Day) are attractive, but they spend the film's 90-minute running time inhabiting lifeless husks. These two are deadly dull, and, despite a few heated sex scenes, there's no evidence of any chemistry between them. Their pursuers, a pair of bumbling cops (Andrew S. Gilbert and Chris Haywood) and a pedophile ex-soccer star named Zipper Doyle (Barry Langrishe), are no more interesting. Along the way, we have the usual gallery of oddballs, including a recluse (STRICTLY BALLROOM's Barry Otto) who shows up everywhere and a motel owner who uses a blow torch to keep the fondue warm.
When the film opens, our heroes, Nikki and Al, are in the process of pulling a scam on a businessman -- she takes him to a motel room, drugs him, then lets her partner in so that the two of them can clean their victim out. Only this time, something goes wrong, and the businessman dies. Panicking, Nikki and Al flee the scene with a video tape in their possession that shows Zipper Doyle in bed with a little boy. Soon, they're involved in a cross-country chase. Only, every place they stop for the night, someone turns up dead. Distrust worms its way into their relationship as Nikki and Al begin suspecting each other of being a little too handy with a knife.
In an unsuccessful attempt to energize his film, director Bill Bennett employs an irritating form of jump-cutting that compresses time. The effect is interesting on the first few occasions when he uses it, but, like a child infatuated with a new toy, he overdoes things. Soon, this peculiar form of editing becomes both distracting and off-putting. Sadly, Bennett's stylistic riffs may be the most intriguing aspect of a film that feels gratingly over-familiar. In fact, my complaints about this movie are similar to those I voiced for A LIFE LESS ORDINARY, except that picture was somewhat better made.
Frances O'Connor and Matt Day, reunited here from LOVE AND OTHER CATASTROPHES, are appealing performers, but there's little that they, or anyone else, can do with this script, which, by trying to be too hip and kinetic, ends up being simply muddled. There is one great moment, however, and, while it's not worth sitting through the movie for, it will stand out for anyone who sees the film. The scene in question doesn't involve the leads, but features the two cops. It begins like something from PULP FICTION, with one man explaining why he doesn't eat bacon. Where the conversation goes, and how it ends, is borderline- hysterical.
Bill Bennett's last feature was the lifeless TWO IF BY SEA, and KISS OR KILL doesn't represent much of a step in the right direction. The films have some plot and character similarities, but the most obvious shared trait is that neither is particularly enjoyable. Viewing KISS OR KILL is more of a trial than a pleasure, and, while it isn't terrible film making, there's nothing here worth getting excited about. Even those with a fondness for this overpopulated genre may find that Bennett's picture is one too many.
Copyright 1997 James Berardinelli
- James Berardinelli e-mail: berardin@mail.cybernex.net
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