''Mr In-Between'' (also called ''The Killing Kind'') is a 2001 British

crime drama Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...

film based on the 1998 novel of the same title by English novelist

Neil Cross Neil Cross ( Neil Claude Gadd; born 9 February 1969) is a British novelist and scriptwriter, best known as the creator of the drama series '' Luther'' and '' Hard Sun''. He is also the showrunner for the TV adaptation of '' The Mosquito Coast' ...

. The film was directed by

cinematographer The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the photographing or recording of a film, television production, music video or other live action piece. The cinematographer is the c ...

Paul Sarossy Paul Sarossy, , , (born April 24, 1963) is a Canadian cinematographer and film director. He is known for his collaborations with director Atom Egoyan, serving as his director of photography on twelve feature films (''Speaking Parts'', '' The Adju ...

, his only directorial role to date, and the screenplay written by Peter Waddington, who also has a small role in the film.

Plot summary

In 2002,

hitman Contract killing is a form of murder or assassination in which one party hires another party to kill a targeted person or persons. It involves an illegal agreement which includes some form of payment, monetary or otherwise. Either party may b ...

Jon lives a life of relative solitude, until one day he happens upon an old friend, Andy, and is plunged into an unneeded relationship. The truth slowly unravels about Jon and what he does, endangering the lives of those close to him, and Jon is faced with an ultimatum. He must make his most difficult decision ever: whether to save the woman he loves or kill her and the child.

Cast

Production notes

*Early on, the film's producers were skeptical about the choice of

, a first-time director and a Canadian in an otherwise all-

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English ...

production crew, but eventually agreed he was the best man for the job. *Sarossy, better known for his work as a

, wanted to focus on his directing and told cinematographer Haris Zambarloukos not to let him behind the camera, no matter how hard he persisted, for the duration of the shooting. *In the original screenplay, as well as in the novel, the tattooed man's lair was a large Victorian-style manor; Sarossy wanted something more dismal, and so writer Peter Waddington revised the scenes to take place in the sewers under the streets of

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

Reception

Derek Elley of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' called it "unevenly acted and scripted". Jamie Russell of the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

rated it 3/5 stars and called it "commendably ambitious, but only occasionally successful". Alan Morrison of ''

Empire An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...

'' rated it 3/5 stars and wrote that the film becomes more pretentious as time goes on.

Total Film ''Total Film'' is a British film magazine published 13 times a year (published monthly and a summer issue is added every year since issue 91, 2004, which is published between July and August issue) by Future Publishing. The magazine was launched i ...

rated it 2/5 stars and called it "intense, reflective yarn" that wallows in sadism. ''

Time Out London ''Time Out'' is a global magazine published by Time Out Group. ''Time Out'' started as a London-only publication in 1968 and has expanded its editorial recommendations to 328 cities in 58 countries worldwide. In 2012, the London edition beca ...

'' called it bleak, stylistically bold, and occasionally pretentious. David Johnson of

DVD Verdict DVD Verdict was a judicial-themed website for DVD reviews. The site was founded in 1999. The editor-in-chief was Michael Stailey, who owned the website between 2004 and 2016, and the site employed a large editorial staff of critics, whose revi ...

called it "a refreshingly original take on the hitman-with-a-conscience gig." Glenn Erickson of

DVD Talk DVD Talk is a home video news and review website launched in 1999 by Geoffrey Kleinman. History Kleinman founded the site in January 1999 in Beaverton, Oregon. Besides news and reviews, it features information on hidden DVD features known as ...

called it "an overachieving straight-to-video feature" that treats its subject matter as more important than it is.

Awards

''Mr In-Between'' won Best UK Feature at

Raindance Film Festival Raindance is an independent film festival and film school that operates in major cities including London, Los Angeles, New York, Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, Budapest, Berlin, and Brussels. The festival was established in 1992 by Elliot Grove to ...

. Andrew Howard won Best Actor at the

Tokyo International Film Festival The is a film festival established in 1985. The event was held biennially from 1985 to 1991 and annually thereafter. Along with the Shanghai International Film Festival, it is one of Asia's competitive film festivals, and is considered to be th ...

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mister In-Between 2001 films 2001 crime thriller films 2001 independent films 2001 psychological thriller films British crime thriller films British independent films Films based on British novels Films set in 2002 2000s English-language films 2000s British films Works by Neil Cross