Clocking in at a clean 47 seconds, the title sequence in The Killer sets something like a metronome for David Fincher’s latest effort. Guided by the steady pulse of Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’ score, a montage unfolds on details of the eponymous, nameless assassin (Michael Fassbender) using his hands to execute his trade. Each shot, none more than a second and framed exclusively from first-person viewpoints and close-ups, keeps to the consistency of the music’s rhythm as an offbeat swells in dissonance to match his increasingly brutal methods.
An integral component of Fincher’s filmography has been title sequences, with that for (1995) often being cited as his most iconic. Where that opener frames the details of a serial killer’s meticulous documentation seeds a precise economy of form that the remainder of the film proceeds to orbit.
