{"id":39676,"date":"2023-11-15T12:59:03","date_gmt":"2023-11-15T11:59:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=1919173"},"modified":"2023-11-15T14:46:11","modified_gmt":"2023-11-15T13:46:11","slug":"the-killer-ending-explained-why-does-he-spare-the-client","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/the-killer-ending-explained-why-does-he-spare-the-client\/","title":{"rendered":"The Killer ending explained: Why does he spare the client?"},"content":{"rendered":"

David Fincher’s neo-noir thriller builds to a surprisingly quiet ending… <\/p>

By Patrick Cremona\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Wednesday, 15 November 2023 at 11:59 AM<\/p>

\n\n

David Fincher\u2019s new movie <\/span>The Killer<\/span><\/a> is now available to stream on Netflix following its theatrical fun.<\/span><\/p>\n

Based on the French graphic novel<\/a> by writer Alexis \u2018Matz\u2019 Nolent and artist Luc Jacamon, the neo-noir thriller<\/a> stars Michael Fassbender<\/a><\/span> as a nameless hired killer <\/span>whose life comes crashing down after he makes a grave error on the job and is forced to deal with the fallout.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

However, the action film leads to a surprisingly quiet and murder-free climax, which may have left you scratching your head.<\/p>\n

So, if you\u2019re wondering why Fassbender\u2019s character lets his client, a billionaire hedge fund manager named Claybourne, live, and what it all means, read on for everything you need to know about the ending of\u00a0 The Killer<\/a>.<\/p>

The Killer ending explained: Why does he let Claybourne live?<\/strong><\/h2>\nThe film<\/a> follows the unnamed killer as he embarks on a revenge mission after finding his girlfriend (Sophie Charlotte) has been attacked as payback for a hit he had messed up by accidentally shooting the wrong person.<\/p>\n
One by one, he goes after everyone involved in the attack \u2013 from a taxi driver who had been an accomplice, to the man who had arranged the hit \u2013 and brutally dispatches them in a number of different ways.<\/p>\n
After separately meeting and killing the two assassins, a brutish man (Sala Baker) and a more refined woman (Swinton), the killer\u2019s final port of call is the client who had ordered the hit he\u2019d messed up in the first place, who had presumably then ordered the retaliatory mark on the killer\u2019s girlfriend.<\/p>\n
The client is a billionaire hedge fund manager named Claybourne, who explains to the killer that he was simply startled after the original hit had gone wrong and had been persuaded to \u201ctie up loose ends\u201d \u2013 although he hadn\u2019t known what that would actually entail.<\/p>\n
Perhaps surprisingly, the killer accepts this version of events and spares Claybourne<\/strong>, although he does leave him with a warning that he will <\/em>kill him should he learn of any new attempts on his or his girlfriend\u2019s lives.<\/p>\n
Eventually, the Killer leaves and returns to his home in the Dominican Republic, where he is reunited with his now recovering girlfriend.<\/p>\n
And in a final voiceover, he declares that he is now \u201cone of the many\u201d rather than \u201cone of the few\u201d, as he had been before.<\/p>\n
What does the ending of The Killer mean?<\/strong><\/h2>\n $\"Michael$ \n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>
Speaking exclusively to RadioTimes.com<\/a> ahead of release, cinematographer Erik Messerschmidt explained that when he was first sent the script, he was a little unsure about what it all meant.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo be honest with you, I was a bit confused about what the film was about, initially,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI needed some clarification from him [Fincher]. You know, is this about sociopathy? Is it meant to be really exciting? What are we\u2026? And he said, \u2018Don\u2019t look for the theme. The film is about process, about process and procedure.’\u201d<\/p>\n
Messerschmidt added: \u201cIt\u2019s precise when the character is precise, and it\u2019s messy when he\u2019s distraught, and that really intrigued me.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it was just sort of\u2026 all of the conversations we had, for the most part, on the movie were about the structure of the scenes, as it pertains to photography of them and where we would put the camera and how we would use the camera, and he was so much about his point of view.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd, you know, the idea of the kind of\u2026 I like to call it the omniscient ghost, that you\u2019re in this room with someone who never lets anyone very close to them, and suddenly you\u2019re in a position to watch their process and they\u2019re not performing the way we do in social settings, he\u2019s just by himself. And that really interested me.\u201d<\/p>