The Kill Team
When Andrew Briggman (Nat Wolff), a young soldier in the US invasion of Afghanistan, witnesses other recruits killing innocent civilians under the direction of a sadistic leader, Sergeant Deeks (Alexander Skarsgård), he considers reporting them to higher-ups — but the heavily-armed, increasingly violent platoon becomes suspicious that someone in their ranks has turned on them, and Andrew begins to fear that he’ll be the next target.
Director:
Dan Krauss
Cast:
Nat Wolff, Alexander Skarsgård
Screenplay:
Dan Krauss
Screening Date:
Oct 19, 2019
Studio:
A24
Running Time:
1h 27m
| Excellent | Very Good | Good | Fair | Poor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 33.3% | 36.6% | 13.3% | 6.6% | 10.0% |
“Very difficult to watch. Should be a training film. Very well
done.”
“The film grabs you from the opening scene and doesn’t let go,
and where it goes to is as much a horror film as any gruesome
tale, but this is real.”
“A gripping film on the hazards of war and the hazards of
training men to kill. Kubrick did it well with FULL METAL
JACKET, similar in terms of moral ambiguity and commitment to
kill.”
“Very tough to watch in these tough times.”
“This is a powerful film and it is important to be reminded of
the horrors of war. And it was well acted. That said I asked
myself what was the filmmakers agenda here? We in the
audience pretty much know war has those atrocities. But the
also awful truth is war historically has been heroic. We can live
free because some people died for our freedom. So what are
we supposed to take away from this film? It was so heavy
handed. I have to say it felt like war porn. Sorry!” Jeanne K
“Would recommend but explaining first that film is extremely
disturbing!”
“The Sergeant is a troubling character, going from father figure
to premeditated murderer. The soldiers are like the boys in
Lord of the Flies who become lost, primal, violent, losing all
traits of civilization.”
“Tough to watch but a significant story an important lesson
about the horrors of war. Excellent acting!”
“Enough with the F word! Film offers lots of reasons to be a
pacifist.”
“Yes, these are the guys who got caught, as war atrocities are
far more prevalent than we ever hear about.”
“I would recommend it for people to see that war is not a kid’s
game! As our President says.”
“An important story. War is ugly and turns some people uglier.
The film terrific, lots of edge-of-seat tension. Shows the dark
side of creating brotherhood among squad members. Who
knows how much of this goes on? Excellent movie but difficult.
Needed to be made. Shows how the enemy has to be
dehumanized.”
“Skarsgard as Deeks is as good a performance as any in recent
memory.”
“A film riddled with moral ambiguity. Left me with much to talk
about and to think about. Very solid and convincing
performances.”
“Sadly, nothing startling about this particular film. We have a
volunteer military! Very different from volunteer to draft!”
“I pity the poor parents, patriotic and well meaning, whose
world collapses around them. Wish we dealt with their story in
greater detail.”
“Saw the documentary, brilliant. This was well done but other
than dramatizing an ugly incident, not much to offer.”
“Cinematography too choppy. No details on training. You
teach soldiers to follow orders then give them a sadistic leader.
What has the US army come to? Doesn’t the army have any
checks and balances?”
If you'd like to know more about the film...
Interview with Director Dan Krauss, Nat Wolff, and Alexander Skarsgard. They discuss their characters and the importance of not judging them and their experience on set. Dan Krauss also talks about how he became inspired to create the documentary and then the 2019 film. (Interview starts at 2:56) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhPw3mfmH8s
Short and sweet, insightful interview with Nat Wolff. He discusses his character and meeting Adam, the soldier who inspired his character, Andrew - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VuUJl231NhQ
Detailed article by Rolling Stone of the true story, written in 2011, this article inspired Director Dan Krauss to film the documetnary and later the fictionalized depiction - https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/the-kill-team-how-u-s-soldiers-in-afghanistan-murdered-innocent-civilians-169793/
