The Killers

Two men arrive in a small town and wait to kill a former boxer working at a filling station. He does not try to run; he lies on his bed knowing they are coming. An insurance investigator sets out to find why. The film builds the answer in flashbacks from different people's accounts; each witness supplies a piece and nobody has all of it. Robert Siodmak directed. It is Burt Lancaster's first film, with Ava Gardner in the cast. It starts from Ernest Hemingway's short story, which covers only the opening section; the rest belongs to the film. Who it's for: those who like classic noir and fragmented narrative. Who it's not for: viewers wanting a linear story; the film keeps breaking time.