The MacGuffin

Kill List starts off with a subtle air of tension. Jay (Neil Maskell) is currently unemployed, with a wife and child. We soon learn he hasn’t had a job in over a year, and the last one he did have did not go well. His wife Shel (MyAnna Buring) is unhappy and the two are not getting along. One night while Jay’s closest friend Gal (Michael Smiley) and his girlfriend are over for dinner, Shel’s and Jay’s feelings clash in an explosive argument. The situation leaves a rather bad taste in the mouth of Gal’s girlfriend Fiona (Emma Fryer) concerning her opinion of Jay. In response, she takes action that is directly responsible for what is going to happen to Jay.

A truly great child actor can illicit emotion from the viewer in ways that dissolve once the barriers to adulthood begin to be crossed. Perhaps this is because seeing a child invoke that kind of emotion reminds us that they feel as deeply as we “grown-ups” do, and that our own pain was never silly, like we might now think of it. Perhaps it is because of the inherent helplessness of childhood, where you must face your problems in ways that others determine for you, and the audience cannot judge the character and say “this is what I would have done.” Or perhaps we just enjoy marveling at talent that comes so young. Whatever the case, the pull is there, and I felt it to an amazing degree while watching the star of Tomboy (2011).

A well-made film about someone selflessly helping another provides a certain distinct sense of pleasure for the viewer, which I believe comes mostly from the fact that films of this sort are usually done poorly. They slide into congratulatory territory; they try too hard to be heartwarming, and miss the point. They suggest that the viewer should immediately go out and seek their own charity case to shower neighborly love upon, whether they want it or not. Le Havre, the most recent film from Finnish filmmaker Aki Kauismäki, tackles such a story of helping a stranger with none of that treacle. Characters who are essentially good people are faced with choices, and they act in the best interest of someone who doesn’t have the means to get through his situation alone. Would that the world was a bit more like this…