THE REASONER CAN'T REASON WITH THE MEMORY OF A KILLER

Reasoner was mighty glad to get a hold of this film and won't be handing it off to anyone else soon.Twitch recently reported that on the strength of this film director Eric Van Looy has been invited to try his hand at helming stateside. Should you buy or rent? The Reasoner says Buy.

1. The aging hitman/hitman with a heart of gold film has had some good entries over recent years precisely because the situation it sets up is so inviting to great actors. Leon The Professional, Ghost Dog and The Limey boasted solid performances and likewise that of Memory lead Jan Decleir is outstanding. He plays Angelo Ledda, an aging assassin who has been diagnosed in the early stages of Alzheimer's. When asked to kill a twelve-year-old girl he declines only to discover that someone else has carried out the hit. In a rage he decides to use the last of his failing mental faculties to avenge her, carefully stalking and killing the men who did the unthinkable while the police trail him.

2. This film puts you at the center of Alziemher's a condition that affects a much larger percentage of our world population than say schizophrenia or sociopathy which are much more often utilized in the cinema. The film might help heighten awareness with the excellent job it does of putting you in the Ledda's mind but more importantly it's actually a better dramatic device helping build empathy for Ledda but also providing a breathtaking obstacle doing action sequences.

3. This film is in Dutch rather than French. Hurray for the Dutch who now have a much better hitman film than Luc Besson's Leon The Professional.

4. The film is also a first rate action thriller. Suspense abounds, and the many action sequences are staged perfectly. You are bound to find yourself far more engaged and entertained than you thought you would be.

5. This is that rare kind of action film which develops it's characters beyond what it needs to to blow them up.

6. You should buy this film as a thank you to the director who could have taken it's concept and made a tasteless teen sex comedy starring Rob Schnieder.

7. As in most Sony Classics releases the Special Features are pretty skimpy. If that's the sort of thing that sways you then this will probably send you out for a renatl. Included are a short Behind The Scenes Featurette and images from the film's premiere.