Michael Winterbottom’s adaptation of the classic pulp novel The Killer Inside Me is the first movie of 2010 I’ve been highly anticipating. I’ve been a fan of the book and of noir master Jim Thompson for about a decade, so when this movie was announced last year with Casey Affleck as the lead, I couldn’t have been more excited. Then the six minute sales trailer was released back in November and it became apparent Winterbottom wasn’t going to sugarcoat the book’s violence and S&M aspects.

Then in January 2010, the film screened at Sundance to much uproar. Jessica Alba, who plays prostitute Joyce Lakeland in the film, walked out of the movie halfway through. Afterward, Winterbottom had to answer to an outraged audience (mostly women) who saw the film’s graphic violence towards women gratuitous and glorifying. But there’s no such thing as bad press and the film was scooped up by the brass at IFC.

So is The Killer Inside Me really that violent and misogynistic? Yeah, it is. The two scenes in question are downright brutal. The woman sitting in front of me was covering her eyes and crying at one point. But it’s not gratuitous in the least bit. Remember that this is a movie about a perverse, misogynistic murderer and it’s told from his point of view. And Winterbottom explained in an interview, we’re not supposed to enjoy watching violence. Watching a woman get beat is supposed to make us cringe. In my opinion, Winterbottom used his violence effectively and it’s in no way glorified.

But I don’t want to harp on the film’s violence because Killer is way more than that. They nailed the book. From the jazzy opening credits over Little Willie John’s “Fever” to the end, I was hypnotized by the film’s seductive mood and aesthetics. It’s challenging, gorgeous, hilarious, and as pulpy as a whore’s caved-in face.

Full review/rant after the jump

Dig: Written by Jim Thompson while he was actually sober, The Killer Inside Me is told through the eyes of 29-year-old deputy sheriff Lou Ford of Central City, Texas. He gets his kicks by boring people with dull conversations riddled with platitudes, but under the surface Ford is a highly intelligent sociopath who solves calculus problems for fun. When instructed to run whore Joyce Lakeland out of town, Ford falls into a sadomasochistic relationship with her. This brings his “sickness” to a boil. See, when Ford was a teen he molested a young girl and his older stepbrother Mike took the fall for it. Later on Mike died while working on a construction site and Ford blamed Chester Conway, Central City’s construction magnate, for Mike’s death. After Joyce tells Ford that Conway’s oafish son Elmer is one of her loyal customers, Ford sees an opportunity for revenge.

Winterbottom couldn’t have found a better Lou Ford than Casey Affleck. Affleck’s baby face perfectly masks Ford’s dark tendencies and the swagger he carries through the entire film is as charming as it is terrifying. Think a country-fried version of Patrick Bateman. And just like American Psycho‘s Bateman, we can’t help but enjoy hanging out with sociopath Ford. His charm and wit create some of the film’s funnier moments. But Winterbottom also creates some sympathy for Ford. Who can’t relate to hurting the ones you love? Sure, we don’t murder them, but you know what I mean. Ford’s as cold-blooded as they come, but he was also the victim of abuse as a child – creating this “sickness” inside him. It’s clearly explained in the later chapters of the book why Ford lashes out against women. I’m afraid in the movie it’s only implied and I’m sure a lot of people will walk out of the theater not really sure what made Ford tick.

The rest of the cast features character actor extraordinaire Elias Koteas as union leader Joe Rothman, a man who sees through Ford’s facade and urges him to “save the bullshit for the birds.” Ned Beatty plays construction magnate Chester Conway and Bill Pullman has a small but great role as eccentric lawyer Billy Boy Walker. And as a testament to Winterbottom’s direction, he manages to pull decent performances from Jessica Alba (Joyce) and Kate Hudson (Ford’s girlfriend Amy).

In the end, there’s no message behind Killer. It’s simply a perfectly executed character study, hard-boiled waist-high in the dark pool of humanity. No word on a theatrical release yet, but it will be made available on IFC On Demand this summer.

- Oh Mars