Mr In-Between

Mr In-Between
Theatrical poster
Directed by	Paul Sarossy
Produced by	Andreas Bajohra Michael Cowan Yvonne Michael Jason Piette Bob Portal
Written by	Peter Waddington Neil Cross (novel)
Starring	Andrew Howard Geraldine O'Rawe Andrew Tiernan David Calder
Music by	Jennie Muskett
Cinematography	Haris Zambarloukos
Edited by	Eddie Hamilton
Distributed by	Verve Pictures
Release dates	10 September 2001 (2001-09-10) (TIFF)[1] 3 October 2003 (2003-10-03) (UK)[2]
Running time	98 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English

Mr In-Between (also called The Killing Kind) is a 2001 British crime drama film based on the novel of the same title by English novelist Neil Cross. The film was directed by cinematographer Paul Sarossy, his only directorial role to date, and the screenplay written by Peter Waddington, who also has a small role in the film.

Plot summary

In 2002, hitman Jon (Andrew Howard) lives a life of relative solitude, until one day he happens upon an old friend, Andy (Andrew Tiernan), and is plunged into an unneeded relationship. The truth slowly unravels about Jon and what he does, endangering the lives of those close to him, and Jon is faced with an ultimatum. He must make his most difficult decision ever: whether to save the woman he loves or kill her and the child.

Cast

Production notes

UK film poster

• Early on, the film's producers were skeptical about the choice of Paul Sarossy, a first-time director and an American in an otherwise all-British production crew, but eventually agreed he was the best man for the job.
• Director Paul Sarossy, better known for his work in cinematography, wanted to focus on his directing and told cinematographer Haris Zambarloukos not to let him behind the camera, no matter how hard he persisted, for the duration of the shooting.
• In the original screenplay, as well as in the novel, the tattooed man's lair was a large, Victorian-style manor. But director Paul Sarossy wanted something more dismal, and so writer Peter Waddington revised the scenes to take place in the sewers under the streets of London.

Reception

Derek Elley of Variety called it "unevenly acted and scripted".^[3] Jamie Russell of the BBC rated it 3/5 stars and called it "commendably ambitious, but only occasionally successful".^[2] Alan Morrison of Empire rated it 3/5 stars and wrote that the film becomes more pretentious as time goes on.^[4] Total Film rated it 2/5 stars and called it "intense, reflective yarn" that wallows in sadism.^[5] Time Out London called it bleak, stylistically bold, and occasionally pretentious.^[1] David Johnson of DVD Verdict called it "a refreshingly original take on the hitman-with-a-conscience gig."^[6] Glenn Erickson of DVD Talk called it "an overachieving straight-to-video feature" that treats its subject matter as more important than it is.^[7]

Awards

Mr. In-Between won Best UK Feature at Raindance Film Festival.^[8] Andrew Howard won Best Actor at the Tokyo International Film Festival.^[9]

References

External links

• Official website
• Mr In-Between at the Internet Movie Database
• Mr In-Between at AllMovie
• Mr In-Between at Rotten Tomatoes