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Kubrick’s Deception and Suspense in The Killing

In his text on Stanley Kubrick entitled Stanley Kubrick, Director: A Visual Analysis author Alexander Walker states that "each of the films of Stanley Kubrick has a strong, unifying aspect. But it would be rash to say that all of them bear witness to strong, unifying themes" (44). This quote seems to be embodied by Kubrick’s second feature, the inspirational noir The Killing. The strong, unifying aspect in The Killing that Walker speaks of is Kubrick’s accomplishment at creating a sensory experience of deception and construction of suspense that surpasses that of his first attempt, Killer’s Kiss. However, Kubrick doesn’t accomplish the task of tying all of his complex narrative strands together which, while it is a minute flaw, it still holds the film back.

Kubrick’s deception of the audience is found in numerous places through out the film. One visual example is when Johnny Clay enters the Chess and Checkers club. Kubrick chooses not to directly shoot this scene by simply having Clay enter the club, instead he shoots it through a reflection on a mirror and does not take himself out of the reflection until Clay walks past the mirror, changing the audience’s perception. Kubrick also limits the audience’s perception in the fades to black when a key piece of information on the heist is going to be revealed. Not only does Kubrick visually deceive the audience, but also audibly. This is noted in the voice over narration that not only jars the temporal order of events but misinforms the audience. The example of this is when the narrator informs us that Clay is in his friend Marvin’s apartment at seven AM and in a following scene when he shows up at an airport ticket counter in Boston at seven AM. A second example of this is when the narrator informs us that George’s wife, Sherry, cannot sleep when in fact it is George who cannot sleep and awakens her. Most audience members believe a narrator to be omniscient and truthful, however, in recent cinema such as Memento and the Kubrick inspired Tarantino film Reservoir Dogs the audience is being challenged with questioning not only a narrator’s integrity but the events that they are being subjected through in the camera’s perception.

Deception, however, is not the only trait Kubrick seems to successfully breathe into The Killing. His talent for building suspense also shines through and could even rival that of Hitchcock in certain sequences. Kubrick goes about this several ways, mainly by foreshadowing, bombarding the senses, and intercutting of sequences. An example of foreshadowing is when George goes to Sherry, and complains of having stomach and head pains. This play on words later becomes the truth when George is shot in the stomach. A second instance of foreshadowing is Kubrick’s utilization of puppies. When the young gunman Nicky is seen stroking a puppy and is later killed the audience questions the appearance of a second puppy in the film’s climax. Kubrick, however, doesn’t only use foreshadowing to bring about suspense but also the bombarding of the senses. This is also evident in an exchange between George and Sherry in which George expresses his anxiety on robbing the racetrack. Kubrick does not allow the dialogue to become the main subject of the audience’s attention but rather the loud ticking of a clock that succeeds in grating the nerves of the audience. Kubrick’s final method at creating suspense is the intercutting of sequences during the heist. He combines the readying of the horses for the race with the criminals preparing for the robbery, drawing out the conclusion longer and creating an interesting parallel.

However, Kubrick’s attempts at bringing the complex narrative to a close are not as successful as those of creating suspense and deception. For example, there is the foreshadowing of three events that never resolve into anything. The first two events seem to tie into one another. The first is that of all the criminals decide to remain sober and swear themselves off of alcohol while the heist is taking place. However, George begins drinking at the end of the film but it never really leads to anything. On the other hand, Marvin, whose homosexual advances are rejected by Clay, is warned to stay away from the track during the heist. However, Marvin becomes intoxicated and makes his way to the racetrack. Again, this never becomes significant to the plot. Another event that becomes built up is George’s hatred for Clay after Sherry lies to him and says he accosted her. George brings a firearm into the heist and, while it becomes utilized in the climax, serves no purpose in the subplot of his contempt. While these may seem like minor complaints they keep the film from being as suspenseful.

While the majority of Kubrick’s auteuristic techniques that become the unifying strands in The Killing seem to be extremely effective, they are hampered by the failed utilization of a few into the plot. However, Kubrick’s film clearly shows an advancement over that of Killer’s Kiss and well-built foundation that would later lead to his classics.

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