Review: William Forsythe’s Crime Drama “Laugh Killer Laugh”
This drama/action revolves around a lonely gangster whose life is like a life-less, unhappy routine…he steals and kills people for a living then stays in his apartment to clean his weapons, listen to the radio, eat, and occasionally play the piano. All these until one fine day when he decided to join a creative writing class.
The lead Frank Stone (William Forsythe) is as hard and emotionless as a rock, but everything in his life changed when he joined a creative writing class and met a jolly girl named Jackie (Bianca Hunter). She was there to listen to every short story that Frank would present to class, and Jackie even showed interest to get to know him better. So eventually, the 2 developed a special friendship, which affected the stone-hearted Frank in a positive way.
Aside from Jackie’s presence, Frank’s life turned upside down when he went through coma for a couple of days after he was planned to get killed by his co-goons. He felt happy the moment he woke up in the hospital; in fact, he would laugh at every little thing. Everything seemed quite good; however, whatever happiness Frank felt was deemed to be temporary as his enemies went looking for him and ended up killing poor Jackie when she failed to provide Frank’s whereabouts.
Jackie’s death really saddened Frank, so he hunted down all his enemies and went on a killing spree. The film ended with Frank alone again but with a lighter perspective this time, all thanks to the positive influence that Jackie left him.
One of the most awesome parts of this film is how the writer/director (Kamal Ahmed) was able to establish the dark past of Frank, explaining to the audience the reason behind the main character’s rage and loneliness. From time to time, the movie would show Tom Sizemore who played as the harsh and paedophile orphanage headmaster (Frank grew up in an orphanage) and who brought a deep emotional, mental and physical torture to the young Frank. Sizemore played his haunting character brilliantly, making the audience feel rage for him and understand Frank better as the story progresses.
Credits should also go to William Forsythe for playing Frank Stone really well. From a cold, antisocial attitude to a jolly killer, the actor was really effective in portraying the film’s lead role. Plus, the representation of creative writing as Frank’s outlet of deep-buried emotions served as a perfect soft spot of the whole movie.
“Laugh Killer Laugh” is really a must-watch for those who want to let go of a haunting past and move on with their lives on a positive note.