I found "The Killing" excruciatingly difficult to sit through because it was so repetitive. A few tropes (notably the weird, un-sexy cabaret act,) are played out over and and over with minor variations, providing a structural backbone for the movie. As a result, "The Killing" is an innovative thriller trapped inside a bloated self-indulgent work of improvisational theater.
This movie was obviously a major influence on David Lynch's "Mulholland Drive". Compare "The Killing"'s Mr. Sophistication and his Delovelies to "Mulholland"'s sketchy night club performers. The coffee-drooling scene in "Mulholland" is pretty clearly a Lynchian riff on a similar scene from "The Killing". I'm glad I saw "The Killing...", but primarily because for its historical value.
This movie was obviously a major influence on David Lynch's "Mulholland Drive". Compare "The Killing"'s Mr. Sophistication and his Delovelies to "Mulholland"'s sketchy night club performers. The coffee-drooling scene in "Mulholland" is pretty clearly a Lynchian riff on a similar scene from "The Killing". I'm glad I saw "The Killing...", but primarily because for its historical value.