The Kill Room (2023)

2 1/2 Stars (out of 4)

Slayed of the Art

By Jeffrey M. Anderson

This silly, lightweight crime comedy doesn't exactly have the most air-tight of stories, but the cast seems to be all in, having a good time, and elevating the movie to "not-bad" status.

Struggling art dealer Patrice (Uma Thurman) hasn't been able to sell anything lately, and is on the verge of losing her gallery. When her drug dealer, Nate (Matthew Maher), arrives to collect payment for her supply of Adderall, she gives him a painting instead. Nate shows the painting to his boss, Gordon (Samuel L. Jackson), who runs his crime operation out of a Jewish bakery. Gordon has a great idea.

Since the price of art is entirely arbitrary, why not use Patrice's gallery to launder money? Desperate, Patrice reluctantly agrees, but they need one thing to make the deal legit. They need paintings. So Gordon enlists his hit man Reggie (Joe Manganiello) to do the job. Reggie, who signs his work "The Bag Man," unexpectedly becomes a phenomenon, bringing all kinds of attention — both good and bad — to Patrice and the gallery.

Directed by Nicol Paone, The Kill Room suffers slightly from its blocky style, with actors photographed head-on and cutting back and forth, creating a slight remove, as if they're talking to themselves. (This method is perhaps used when actors were not on set at the same time.) But when Paone is able to compose her actors in the same frame, things loosen up considerably.

Thurman brings a screwball zaniness to her character (and even plays a bonus scene with her real-life daughter, Maya Hawke) and Jackson seems to be having fun with his oddball character, a Black man who speaks Yiddish and sells bialys. Manganiello brings unexpected heart to his reluctant hit-man, and Jennifer Kim is hilarious as a fellow art-dealer (who wears glasses with enormous, oversized frames) who blows air-kisses and makes bubbly hand-gestures when she speaks.

It's fun to see the kooky millionaire art-collectors buffaloed as well. The ending of The Kill Room is rather shoehorned into place, but it's all done with a generous measure of goodwill.