Paul Schrader Says Fincher’s ‘The Killer’ is “All Hat”

Last night, Paul Schrader took a swipe at David Fincher’s “The Killer” on his Facebook feed.

I’ll repeat what I said yesterday, but I’m not entirely sure why Schrader believes dissing his fellow filmmakers on social media is a good idea. I don’t think there’s any other director, of Schrader’s stature, doing that. Regardless, his takes are always entertaining.

Schrader found “The Killer” technically “masterful,” but complained that it was an example of a film being “all hat.” Schrader also noted that Michael Fassbender‘s constant narration makes him “the Chatty-Kathy of hit men.”

Fincher has called “The Killer” a “B-movie.” He has no pretensions about that. It’s an expertly dressed-up, near-silent assassin film. However, this is absolutely what you might call a “by the numbers” movie. Sharp, pulpy and not pretending to be anything other than what it purports to be.