by Charles Kirkland, Jr.
An expat private investigator is drawn into finding the truth about the death of a shipping magnate after a free solo climb in Killer Heat.
When Leo Vardakis dies after a free solo climb, his death is ruled an accident by local Italian officials. Displeased with their decision, Penelope, Leo’s sister-in-law, enlists the assistance of Nick Bali, a former New York detective who has recently moved to the area. Bali is tasked with discovering Leo’s killer but cannot let anyone know that he is working for her, especially her husband, Elias, Leo’s twin brother.
Written by Matt Charman and Roberto Bentivegna based on the short story “The Jealousy Man by Jo Nesbø, Killer Heat stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Shailene Woodley, Richard Madden, Clare Holman and Babou Ceesay. Philippe Lacôte directs it.
Killer Heat bills itself as a noir movie. With good intentions, Lacôte attempts to channel the genre but fails because of location and story.
The setting for the film is a small island in the middle of Greece. Most noir films are set in dark areas. Think about Casablanca or even a new age noir film like Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. True noir films are cinematically dark typically. Differently, the Grecian skyline is full of brightness. Even at night, the world of the film is too absent of cinematic darkness. Despite its best attempts, the setting of the movie does not allow itself to seriously feel like a true noir movie.
The story of Killer Heat is not even dark enough to be noir. Even though the solution to the case is so evident that it could be missed in the beginning, the answer discovered is a little twisty but nowhere near as dark as it should be for a noir movie. Even the conclusion of the film betrays the closing nature of a noir movie. In a typical noir film, there is usually a bit of melancholy mixed in with hopeful optimism when the film ends. This film is far too optimistic, positive, and complete with its closure.
These problems are a detriment to this movie’s genre classification but not to the movie. Killer Heat is creative and interesting. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is very good as a conflicted PI with a conflicted past. The movie’s story is as much about him as it is about the mystery he is investigating. Levitt narrates his way through his troubles and finds a solution to the mystery he is investigating in a very noir style.
Rated R for language, some sexual content/nudity, and violence, Killer Heat is a neo-noir mystery crime drama at best, complete with the narrative audio track. It is a very stylized movie with a gimmick that keeps the story interesting even if it is not as clever as it attempts to be.
Killer Heat is on Prime Video starting September 26, 2024.
Grade: C+