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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.

Memory of a Killer, The

EMAILPRINTSony Pictures Classics

Memory of a Killer, The reviews
73
8.3 User Score:

Generally favorable reviews

Based on 28 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

Based on 8 votes
Read user comments
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Movie Info

Genre(s): Action  |  Crime  |  Drama  |  Foreign  |  Suspense/Thriller

Written by: Carl Joos
Erik Van Looy
Jef Geeraerts (novel)

Directed by: Erik Van Looy

Release Date:
Theatrical: August 26, 2005
DVD: February 21, 2006

Running Time: 120 minutes, Color

Origin: Belgium / Netherlands

Summary

RATING: R for violence, sexuality and nudity

Starring Koen De Bouw, Werner De Smedt, Jan Decleir, Jo De Meyere, Hilde De Baerdemaeker, Geert Van Rampelberg, Gene Bervoets, and Patrick Descamps

Angelo Ledda (Decleir) is an international hitman who has been hired to terminate two people in Belgium. Unknown to those around him, Ledda has advanced symptoms of Alzheimers, and this double murder will likely be his last. (Sony Pictures Classics)

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100

Time Richard Schickel

Without question, the best crime movie of the year--and one of the best movies of any sort now playing.

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88

Chicago Tribune Michael Wilmington

The movie itself is as slick, fast and terrifyingly violent as a top-grade American crime thriller, but a lot smarter than most.

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88

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

Watch Jan Decleir's performance. He never goes for the easy effect, never pushes too hard, is a rock-solid occupant of his character.

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88

Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey

A cracking police procedural from Belgian director Erik van Looy, has a jaw-dropping premise so smartly executed that if this movie weren't in Flemish I'd swear that Michael Mann had directed it.

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80

Washington Post Desson Thomson

Belgian actor [Jan] Decleir's tough-guy vulnerability ... gives an otherwise standard police procedural extraordinary grace and power.

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80

Chicago Reader Jonathan Rosenbaum

Director Erik Van Looy skillfully profiles both the assassin (Jan Decleir, suggesting a tougher, over-the-hill version of Michel Piccoli) and the Antwerp detectives investigating his crimes.

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80

Salon.com Andrew O'Hehir

Wonderfully acted and energetically filmed, and in fact it partly echoes a real-life pedophilia scandal that rocked Belgian society to its foundations in the '90s.

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80

Slate David Edelstein

A gratifyingly slick and fast-moving Flemish thriller, directed by Erik Van Looy, with superb acting.

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80

Wall Street Journal Jim Fusilli

This award-winning picture from Belgium is the kind Hollywood seems no longer interested in making: a sophisticated drama that presumes a level of insight and maturity in an audience that doesn't need winks and arrows to understand what's going on.

80

Variety Lisa Nesselson

A gripping,stylishly lensed thriller.

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80

The New York Times Manohla Dargis

The title character in this nicely kinked Belgian thriller faces a unique adversary: the enemy hot on his heels is Alzheimer's.

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80

Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan

This is one terrific thriller with several wicked tricks up its sleeve, each more satisfying than the last.

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78

Austin Chronicle Marjorie Baumgarten

The movie is tightly wound and expertly unraveled, resulting in a thriller that you'll remember – unlike the hitman Ledda.

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75

Portland Oregonian Marc Mohan

With solid performances, competent direction and artfully drab cinematography, the film would be indistinguishable from a Hollywood thriller if not for the Flemish dialogue. It's no surprise to learn that an American remake is in the works.

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75

New York Post V.A. Musetto

Writer-director Erik Van Looy keeps the action moving briskly. Danny Elsen's cinematography is stylish and the acting top-notch.

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75

New York Daily News Jami Bernard

Absorbing, operatic.

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75

Premiere Glenn Kenny

As exciting and involving as it is brainy.

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75

Boston Globe Wesley Morris

Entertaining.

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75

San Francisco Chronicle Walter Addiego

This Belgian crime thriller makes compelling viewing out of a "you can't be serious" plotline.

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70

The Hollywood Reporter Michael Rechtshaffen

Although comparisons to the memory-challenged machinations of "Memento" are inevitable, the plotting here takes a more traditionally linear path.

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70

Village Voice Leslie Camhi

Van Looy has created a fast-paced and stylish thriller. Declair's Ledda, marvelously suave and vulnerable, provides most of the pathos.

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67

Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman

A lot of thrillers have asked us to identify with assassins -- but I'd be hard-pressed to name one that makes a hitman as sympathetic, if not sentimental, as The Memory of a Killer.

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67

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Sean Axmaker

Highly entertaining.

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63

Miami Herald Marta Barber

This is nothing that a good episode of NYPD Blue hasn't shown myriad times.

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60

TV Guide Ken Fox

Both De Bouw and Decleir are superb.

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50

LA Weekly Mark Olsen

Director Erik Van Looy has filmmaking chops to spare, and while he has created a sharply shot and crisply paced film, he isn't able to make it all cohere.

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50

The Onion (A.V. Club) Nathan Rabin

Initially, the film comes off as a poor man's "Memento," but it gradually becomes apparent that it's only really interested in its protagonist's Alzheimer's as a cheap plot point to be manipulated or discarded as the filmmakers see fit.

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50

Dallas Observer Luke Y. Thompson

If you're one of those people who complained that "Memento" could just as well have been told in chronological order, The Memory of a Killer may be your cup of tea.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this movie is 8.3 (out of 10) based on 8 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

tony b. gave it a7:
Ehh this movie was ok, it was way more hollywood then i was expecting. it wasnt smarter then a hollywood movie it was a hollywood movie with subtitles. no i do agree that the majority of american movies have been extremely terrible as of late. if u want to see a saving grace for hollywood films see kiss kiss bang bang by far the best movie of 2005.

john p. gave it a9:
Another example of just how much better cinema is across the pond.

Ken G gave it a10:
Dark, stark, disturbing, poignant movie, which was excellently acted, and has touches that haunt. It takes a no-holds barr approach, not really in that it gives us excessive violence (although there is violence here), but in the way it handles tough, disturbing issues.

Peter L. gave it a10:
Deadpan humor and well-developed action. Great!

Koen gave it a6:
This movie is not bad, as far as thrillers go. It's not my favorite genre though, and not as exciting as other thrillers. One correction though, this is mainly a Belgian movie, and not a Dutch one. All actors are Belgian, the director is Belgian, and the funcing was Belgian too. So, please correct this in your introduction of the movie.

L Mutz gave it a9:
Wonderful camera work. Effectively used to emphasize uncertainty of killer's actions and memory. Great picture compositions. Story develops very well with lots of suspense. Conflicts at many levels of the story create strong interest in audience. Very well acted. Has some strong violence but is done with taste and good effect. I think it's a must see.

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