After finding success and a devoted fanbase with his raw, real-life approach to domestic dramas, especially with Faces (1968) and A Woman Under the Influence (1974), John Cassavetes, the godfather of indie films, turned to the crime genre, bringing the same commitment to mirroring “real life.” He lets scenes linger long after other directors would yell cut, allowing his characters to simply exist.
There is little suspense, perhaps one of the least suspenseful films with “Killing” in its title. Instead of building tension or paranoia, the film explores failure, self-delusion, and the exhausting act of maintaining a false identity. It tells this through the story of Cosmo Vitelli, a nightclub owner who has built his own little world where he is in charge. Inside his club, he sets the rules, directs the acts, and receives unwavering respect from his employees. But outside, he, like the nightclub itself, is just a cheap, outdated, and ultimately pathetic imitation of something grander.
Cosmo desperately tries to keep up appearances. You see it in the way he dresses, the way he speaks, adopting the mannerisms of a gangster, mimicking their expressions and hand gestures. But his attempts at self-mythologizing lead him deeper into debt, gambling far beyond his means. To fix the problem, he is coerced by real gangsters into killing an elderly Chinese man. Only then does it become clear just how out of his depth he truly is.
Cassavetes succeeds in crafting two vivid, complementing portraits, Cosmo, played with remarkable subtlety by Ben Gazzara, and the nightclub itself, a world of off-key singing, awkward choreography, and washed-out performers reminiscent of Nashville’s Sueleen Gay. However, the nightclub sequences stretch far beyond necessity, offering little insight beyond what was already established in the first scene.
As the film progresses, not everything Cassavetes is reaching for fully materializes. Cosmo’s gambling addiction, the impulsiveness that fuels his downfall, is barely explored. If any scene deserved to run longer, it was that one. Likewise, the aftermath of the murder and Cosmo’s dealings with the gangsters feel frustratingly underdeveloped. By that point, the film unfolds as if there’s no real direction, with Cassavetes simply letting events play out. That may reflect real life, but it ultimately feels like he has little to say about Cosmo’s downfall, leaving the film feeling empty in the end.
This inconsequential approach frustrated critics and audiences in 1976, leading to a box office flop. In response, Cassavetes created a re-edited version in 1978, trimming 20 minutes and restructuring scenes to make it more conventional. I watched the original 135-minute 1976 cut (as part of my 1976 recap series) and found it equally frustrating, not just because of its slow pace and prolonged sequences, but because of Cassavetes’ decision to avoid exploring the most compelling aspects of Cosmo’s downfall.
- 1Rocky
- 2Taxi Driver
- 3Assault on Precinct 13
- 4Kings of the Road
- 5All the President's Men
- 41The Killing of a Chinese Bookie#41 of 51
- Where to watch
Criterion Channel- Where to watch
- Not available for streaming
Play trailer
- Original title
- The Killing of a Chinese Bookie
- Director
- John Cassavetes
- Cast
- Ben Gazzara, Timothy Carey, Seymour Cassel, Robert Phillips, Morgan Woodward, Al Ruban, Azizi Johari, Haji
- Rated
- R
- Screenwriter
- John Cassavetes
- Composer
- Bo Harwood
- Cinematography
- Mitch Breit, Al Ruban
- Editor
- Tom Cornwell
- Country
- Language
- English