‘The Kill Room’ Review – The Art Of Murder

A hitman, his boss, and an art dealer walk into a bialy shop. What sounds like it’s going to be the setup for a very bad (but hilarious) dad joke, is actually the premise behind Nicol Paone’s sophomore film, The Kill Room. Our hitman in this story is Reggie, played by Joe Manganiello. He’s affectionately referred to both on the street and in the art world as The Bagman, due to his creative use of plastic bags to suffocate and kill his targets. Our art dealer is Patrice, played by Uma Thurman (who’s also a producer on this project), whose gallery is struggling as she’s losing clients by the day. Enter our bialy shop owner, Gordon, a black Jewish man working for the mafia, played by Samuel L. Jackson, reuniting the Pulp Fiction co-stars. The two concoct the scheme to launder money through the art world.

Anyone who has ever been curious as to how art became such a lucrative career will get somewhat of an idea from this film, especially when seeing how hard Patrice works to sell the artwork to her customers at such exorbitant prices. The one issue that hurts the film is the mixed tone throughout. It wants to be an action-crime thriller, but it also wants to be a bit of a slapstick comedy, particularly in the first half of the movie. Patrice comes off as bumbling and self-destructive. No one in the art world takes her seriously, and sometimes openly mock her to her face. The editing is so fast-paced in the beginning that when we do finally slow down to tell the story, it’s almost like a tonally different movie takes over. 

Once that shift happens, however, The Kill Room becomes a fundamentally stronger film. The plan is to have Bagman create some questionable art, Gordon will give Patrice dirty money for it, and sell it back to him clean, then use that interest to sell more of Bagman’s pieces. It’s a simple plan really, except when what is supposed to be a low-level scheme turns into the biggest thing in the art world – notoriety is not something the mafia is fond of. It’s then discovered that Reggie is a prisoner of the mafia, led by Tom Pecinka’s Anton, and he’s looking for a way out. 

The movie is at its strongest when it develops its characters more. Reggie and Patrice are the ones who get the most attention in that area. We begin to see Reggie as more than a hired hand, and we see the full breadth of Patrice’s potential as an art dealer. This is shown through the progression of Reggie’s artwork, and Patrice’s capability as a storyteller. This culminates in a final piece that is extremely well crafted. Patrice refers to her clients as “truly terrible people” due to their lavish wealth, greed, and some actual criminal connections.

They buy art not to look at it, not even because of how good it is, but because someone else wants it, and that means they have to have it. What works so well about this screenplay is the way it explores the themes of greed, nihilism, and ego. To be so removed from the day-to-day concerns of your average citizen that live murder can be seen as an art piece. What is even more disturbing is how well it works. 

The film also has a soft commentary on art for profit, and what one has to do in order to get their art seen and appreciated. For some, it takes years, while others are overnight sensations. This creates some anger and distrust among artists shown in the scene where Maya Hawke’s Grace confronts Reggie and has some harsh words for him. The thing that’s being challenged here is the idea of making art for profit, and whether it can be any good. If the goal is just to make a buck, even if everyone likes it, can that still be considered art? And if so, what does that say about everyone else? If not, why do we continue to let it happen?

The Bagman’s art wasn’t intended to be a personal reflection of his world, but it was and everyone could see it – Patrice, the mafia, even Gordon. Even if the art you’re making doesn’t feel personal, or is being done for profit, just because you made it, just because you put time and thought into it, it can be art. 

But if you sell it, make sure it goes to the highest bidder.

The Kill Room is currently available on VOD and Digital platforms courtesy of Shout! Studios. 

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdPfg6PmvHM]