You Kill Me, He Said

As an alcoholic, I appreciate the subject being handled realistically in any type of media presentation. The focus of most drama involving an alcoholic protagonist is "the meeting".
I think by now the twelve steps of Alcoholic Anonymous, or AA re known by most people just because of their use in the presentation of alcoholism in media.

The worst are the TV disease of the week type movie. The formula puts the victim at or arriving at the "bottom" or a low point in their use of the drug of choice. The drunk is losing their family, friends and career because of their uncontrolled drinking. If you throw in a squeaky clean trophy wife, a couple of tearful blond kids, you've got the Sunday night movie of the week. In the formula the drunk goes to an AA meeting. First they resist the people and the process. Than they experience a revelation, usually brought on by their sponsor and than they embrace the group and salivation prevails, usually after one more relapse

Better films have been made and in them you see vestiges of the many faces of the problems alcoholic. Understanding that Alcoholism is different for different people and as a result the meeting you go to may have as much to do with your success as the realization that you have a problem and only you can do anything about it.

The comedy "You Kill Me" is he one of the best I've ever seen. One of the things you want as a film maker is a sympathetic or at least likable protagonist. When we meet Frank Falenczyk, he is shoveling snow at his Buffalo, New York home. His incentive for finishing the job is throwing a bottle of vodka a few feet in front of his path. In order to get the bottle he has to shovel the snow. When he gets to the street, he greets his cousin. His cousin has a message from his uncle. Frank is suppose to kill a rival gang leader so that Frank's family gang can retain control of their illegal enterprises in the Buffalo. Frank doesn't get the job done, because he's drinks himself into a stupor as he stakes out the mark.

The family "intervention" is a little unusual in that while they do profess their love for Frank and they express their concern for his ability to function as a family member and employee, they are really pissed off because he is not killing their enemies.

Frank is sent to San Francisco to dry out. The problem is that Frank doesn't want to quit drinking. The only reason he does is because he doesn't have a choice. He gets a job as an assistant at a funeral home, the irony of this is inescapable. The obligatory scene at the meeting is interesting to me because it's so funny. The reason it's funny is because it probably is more realistic than most depictions. The participants are pathetic and self absorbed. As Franks sponsor Tom says, "Some of these people like to wallow in it". Franks bond with the group begins when he admits, not that he's and alcoholic, but that he is a hired assassin. The amazing thing about this film is that Frank's life completely changes not when he faces his drinking problem, but admits how he made his living. He finds friends and of course experiences the life changing moment of falling in love.

This film is so quirky and off beat that it easily could have been a disaster, but because of the direction of John Dahl and the able acting ability of Ben Kingsley, Bill Pullman, Luke Wilson and Tea Leoni, it works wonderfully. Wilson plays something other than a man stuck in a middle school kids body. Tea Leoni exhibits breadth in her ability to play different characters. And Kingsley, well he is one of the worlds greatest actors and taking a role like this shows confidence and ability of an actor who carries that label . This is a must see film for anyone who wants an enjoyable evening out or wants to see a good film about a drunk who wants to reform.