linda fetch

This is a unique little film which stars Ben Kingsley as an alcoholic hit man whose drinking problem is adversely affecting his job performance (e.g., he passes out while staking out a victim, who gets away unharmed). So his uncle and mob boss sends him from New Jersey to San Francisco where a cousin is supposed to monitor his getting into a program and getting sober.

At first he doesn’t have much use for AA but grudgingly starts to give the program a try with the help of his sponsor played by Luke Wilson. He gets a gig in a mortuary where he meets a brittle businesswoman played by Tea Leoni (who also co-produced). They become attracted to one another which does complicate things rather.

A quirky but diverting and well-produced film. It does raise an interesting philosophical dilemma: is it better for Kingsley’s character to get sober, if it means it will be better for him but worse for his victims? This issue is sort of sidestepped by his claim that he only whacks mobsters and criminals who know their lives are always in jeopardy anyway. But I guess that’s a subject for another time…