The Memory Of A Killer

This review was written for the theatrical release of "The Memory of a Killer."

A Belgian import with a nifty premise, "The Memory of a Killer" is an intriguing policier about an aging hit man in the early stages of Alzheimer's who has a score to settle before dementia sets in.

Thanks to Erik Van Looy's potent direction and solid performances, that setup pays off handsomely, marking the first time a work by acclaimed Flemish detective novelist Jef Geeraerts has been brought to the screen.

It likely won't be the last either, since Focus Features has bought the English-language remake rights and the vehicle would be a no-brainer for a De Niro or a Dennis Hopper, or even a James Caan or Anthony Hopkins.

Fresh from playing the film festival circuit under its original title, "The Alzheimer Case," it could do some decent business on the domestic art house front.

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

Aware of his worsening condition, paid assassin Angelo Ledda (Jan Decleir of "Rosenstrasse") is planning to retire his laser-sighted revolver after signing on for a double murder.

He offs the first part of his assignment -- a high-profile government official -- without a hitch, but when he finds out that the second target is a 12-year-old girl, he not only breaks the contract but makes it his business to put away all those responsible for arranging the hit.

What follows is a neatly choreographed, evocatively shot game of cat-and-mouse between Ledda and the pair of hotshot detectives (Koen De Bouw and Werner De Smedt) on his trail, and while the hitman's personal motives could have used a little more complexity and the tension goes somewhat slack in the third act, filmmaker Looy has crafted a compelling procedural with something more than ballistics on its inquisitive mind.