David Fincher’s latest film, The Killer, sees Michael Fassbender as a kind of archetypal Fincher protagonist: a methodical control freak, cynical and arrogant and finding some mixture of success and failure based on how he navigates the complex world around him. In many ways, The Killer is explicitly about his method, his earned confidence as a contractor-assassin in a meaningless world. What gives him meaning is his impeccable craft. Until he misses. More than a few critics couldn’t help but view The Killer as a kind of autobiographical work, a self-reflective tale of a control freak trying to come to terms with the limits of his talent.
Beyond the narrative boldness of Seven, Fight Club or The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo or the intelligence of Zodiac or Gone Girl or even the confident swings-and-misses of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Mank, Fincher is known for being such a control freak that he sometimes even alienates actors—like Jodie Foster and Jake Gyllenhaal—and would rather blow up a project than see it through without being true to his singular vision. The result of this approach has been several great movies, a few classics even, and also several long stretches where Fincher couldn’t line up what he considered the right budgets or creative control and thus made nothing. The implication has always been that he proudly would not make a movie if the alternative would be something that wasn’t his.
But to what extent, if any, might The Killer be a self-portrait? The world may never know, but what we can understand is how the auteur's filmography helps explain the man behind them. So who better to talk to than Adam Nayman, the man who wrote the book on David Fincher? Today's episode is a re-edit of Nayman's 2022 interview on Riverside Chats promoting his book David Fincher: Mind Games.
Keep the conversation going. Follow The Entertainment on Facebook, Instagram, or Substack and let us know what you think. Subscribe on your favorite podcast app and we’d love it if you gave us a review.The Entertainment is a production of KIOS 91.5 FM Omaha Public Radio. It is produced and edited by Courtney Bierman. Our artwork was created by Topher Booth. Today’s show featured music and clips from The Killer, Fight Club, Zodiac, Mank, and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.
11. His Name is David Fincher