Kriv Stender’s Kill Me Three Times is a very interesting take on the classic botched murder storyline. Screenwriter James McFarland infuses this thriller with a sense of self-referential farce, with Simon Pegg’s (Shaun of the Dead) British wit-fueled performance as the cherry on top. However – don’t be fooled by this casting choice. While Pegg strings a comedic thread through most of his films, Kill Me Three Times is an exciting “who’s gonna get it next?” type of film, and his comedy serves well as a way of greasing the wheels for this action flick to maintain the audience’s focus.
Another aspect that helps keep this focus is the use of colored lighting through neon lights, shades, and other movie magic cheats for source light. Stender’s fellow Australian cinematographer Geoffrey Simpson takes cue from classic 70s Grindhouse films to create a postmodern aesthetic that reminds viewers that they are watching a movie, not real life. It is a simple concept, but in order for the violence not to be taken as truly grotesque, they must remember this truth: Simpson’s use of his on-screen stylizations is key in allowing the audience to accept the hijinks of murder, maybe even with a laugh or two.
Simpson also takes advantage of a beautiful Australian backdrop to set the story. The gorgeous isolated island setting is established early in the film, however – the catch is that, besides the people involved in murder (this includes being a killer, victim or extortionist), there seems to be no one else around. Who knew that such ugly crimes and motivations would look so great with a sunny beach paradise behind it?
Kill Me Three Times is an exciting “who’s gonna get it next?” type of film, and hPegg’s comedy serves well as a way of greasing the wheels for this action flick to maintain the audience’s focus.
Speaking of looking good, the cast does just that. Both Teresa Palmer and Alice Bragga could win a beauty contest, but far more impressive and important is that both of them gave powerful and unique performances as displeased and unfaithful romantic partners. In fact, both Palmer’s and Bragga’s characters are so strong that they help to make clear a distinct choice in a reversal of traditional gender roles seen in most action flick shoot-em-up’s, which is made even more explicit by the very emotionally erratic and sensitive performances of Sullivan Stapleton and Callan Murphy. This gender reversal makes for a much more interesting action story than the traditional male-driven noir stories.
Stenders addresses his playing with traditional character roles to be a direct distinction of the film’s postmodern style. Kill Me Three Times plays upon people’s past film experiences by referencing classic film styles and characters, such as the crooked tough cop and the femme fetale. While the film also adds new dynamics to the traditional nihilistic tale of murders gone wrong, and by choosing a plot template that is so deeply rooted in chance, its goal of creating a new version seems reachable.
However, while the film has style and entertainment value, it lacks enough of a signifier to really stick to an audience’s palate for very long. There aren’t any overly-memorable action moments or trademark lines or catchphrases that fuels the film here. Nor are there any moments of outrageous comedy or snappy one-liners to steal and use on your friends later. It’s still fun to watch though, and while it remains a very technically proficient film, it most likely won’t be on people’s top ten list in a month or so. But for a film whose influences are so entertaining, perhaps the film is doing just what it was meant to do after all.
Kill Me Three Times opens this Friday at the Nuart Theatre.
