Assassins Tale (2013)

Three assassins deal with life, love, addiction and trust as each tries to find the answers to a better life. Together, they prove to be the most trustworthy in this tangled web of murder, greed, friendship and betrayal.

Director:

Arthur Louis Fuller

Writers:

Arthur Louis Fuller, Guy Garner

Stars:

Michael Beach, Anna Silk, Guy Garner

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Michael Beach	...	Roman
Anna Silk	...	Grace
Guy Garner	...	Anthony
Gary Poux	...	Johnny Solo
Rob Roy Fitzgerald	...	Jason
Kaiwi Lyman	...	Woody
Stan Harrington	...	Peter
Lili Mirojnick	...	Fine Young Thing
John M. Keating	...	Marcus
Brian Eric Johnson	...	Burt
Ryan Graham	...	Los
Olivia Julien	...	Kate
Dani Marco	...	Wendy
Thalia Williams	...	Little Girl
Patrick Burdine	...	Big Man

Storyline

Three assassins deal with life, love, addiction and trust as each tries to find the answers to a better life. Together, they prove to be the most trustworthy in this tangled web of murder, greed, friendship and betrayal.

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 July 2013 (USA)

Also Known As:

Opowieść o zabójcach

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,500,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Soundtracks

IDLE HANDS
(2009)
Performed by Shane Tutmarc
Written by Shane Tutmarc (BMI)

User Reviews

Another jiggly-cam victim

"Assassins Tale" has some good qualities. The characters are eccentric and complex. Some of the dialogue is quite clever, although there is often too much of it. The editing is impressive, although it sometimes becomes intrusive and distracting. It has a few nice touches, such as the bit with the casino chips.

On the down side, it tries too hard to emulate Tarantino in stead of carving out it's own identity. Even the poster art features a putatively female assassin with a katana who has apparently wreaked considerable havoc and destruction, although the image has nothing to do with the film. We have assassins who wax poetic on life, sex and philosophy and occasionally decide to defy orders and logic by allowing their targets to live. One of the assassins is a heroin addict. The movie breaks for musical interludes, although not of the caliber of the "Cat People" segment in "Inglourious Basterds."

It's passable low-budget entertainment, although it has some major flaws. The cinematography is marred by extended jiggly-cam shots that will leave the audience reaching for the Dramamine. Even the sweeping pans look as if they were shot by somebody in the midst of an epileptic seizure. The pistols often look like plastic toys. Make- up effects for wounds are basically nonexistent. The film switches between color and monochrome for no apparent reason other than to draw attention to the editing.

The actors talk and emote fairly well, but acting is about action. The two words have a common root. We call people in movies actors, not emoters or talkers. There are no car chases. The only time anybody operates a vehicle is in one shot where they drive into the scene. There's a little walking. One character swims. Another carries a surfboard on to the beach. But there is no fighting , climbing, horseback riding, etc. It's pretty much limited to people sitting or standing around talking and occasionally drawing weapons and shooting one another, interrupted by long transitions and unnecessary establishing shots.

The film has a lot of heart, but not much energy. The actors do as reasonably as can be expected with the material they're given, but their discourses on life and the ethics of their profession would have greater impact if they had to work at it and not simply stand there and pull a trigger, instantly dispatching their victims. Compare this to opening scenes in the most recent version of "Casino Royale," where James Bond has to work and risk his life to kill somebody who doesn't want to die.