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2003 film from Belgium starring Jan Decleir as an aging hitman who recieves order from his boss to kill a prosecutor. He wants to retire, is told that this is business from which people do not retire (I presume he means voluntarily), and besides, he can see his brother in Antwerp. He has not seen his brother in quite some time, as a result of his time of work, I suppose.
So he accepts this assignment, fulfilling his contract, and visiting his brother who is for all intents and purposes a vegetable in a hospital, in the final stages of alzheimers. He is then given another order for another execution, and this one he refuses to do. He replies that no one will do it. He then leaves. We see him in the hotel bar. He hires a prostitue. He keeps taking his pills.
He is watching the news the morning following an evening of sexual bliss, and learns that the person whom he was ordered to hit has been hit. Outraged, he decides to go on a killing rampage, working his way up the food chain until he gets to the person who ordered the original hit.
The twist here is that our hitman is in the beginning stages of alzheimers himself, and he has little time left. An early scene in the restaurant sees him ordering fries, not remembering he already ordered them. We seen him with his brother at the hospital, and we are privy to a very poignant moment as we see one brother looking at the other, knowing that in not too long, he will be in that condition as well.
The advantage that this situation gives him is that he has nothing to live for, and knows he is on borrowed time. Now, cut to the police investigation. Police are investigating the murder of the prosecutor, and then find victim number two. The chief investigator, played by Koen De Bouw suspects a connection, where there is apparently none. The prostitute is shot, with the same gun.
So, police are looking for the same guys that our hitman is looking for. Problem is, if the hitman finds them first, they wind up dead. And so it goes, until both sides learn that a prominent official is at the top.
I'll not reveal all the twists and turns, and the third act, which, first, is not anticipated, not is it predictable. We have seen the final resolution many times before, but here, for what may be the first time, it makes completely logical sense given what we know about the hitman, and does not seem like a cheap way to end a film.
Declair is brilliant as a the hitman, living on borrowed time, knowing his fate. This is a man who is evil, but also has a code that he lives by, and challenges the viewer by playing both sides of the moral fence - a bad man, ridding the world of bad men. He never overplays his role, and has a look of a man who has lived long, hard, and has accepted his fate.
I also appreciate that this film is, on the surface, a good crime drama, but it is more of a human drama about a man facing a terrible ending to his life, seeing first hand what will come, and not able to do anything about it. The screenplay does a very good job of not loosing the human element in the crime drama. I have read that there is a possible American version in the offing. I fear that the human story will be buried by the police procedural.
The officer's partner suspects that the lead officer is sympathetic to the hitman. The officer makes clear such is not the case, and I suspect the police officer represents the director's view.
This film works on a couple of levels, and is very recommended. There is violence, but no gore. Murder is not treated as a gratuitious entertainment. The murders are quick, relatively bloodless, and the camera does not linger on the aftermath. It is clear that the director treats the murders as a necessity to tell the story, but avoids them being the story.
This also may be a film for those who like human dramas but do not like typical police/crime films.

Films/DVD Asylum

Memory of a Killer