You
would expect this kind of thing in Louisiana or New Jersey, but not southern
Colorado: two undertakers killing a third. One of the murderous morticians was
even the mayor of his small town. Filmmaker Devin Hume knew the real-life accused
as helpful members of the community, so he tells their story with a good deal of
compassion in Making a Killing (trailer here), which opens this
Friday in Los Angeles.
Frankly,
it is rather amazing how little Hume and co-screenwriter Jamie Pelz embellished
their narrative. Arthur Herring is an awful lot like his true crime analog, but
maybe a little more schlubby. In addition to his mayoral and embalming duties,
Herring is also the town pastor and he owns everyone’s favorite diner. His
partner in all these ventures is his younger brother Vincent (no, not Vincent
Herring the alto saxophonist), but it is always clear Arthur calls the shots.
It
turns out they also have some rather felonious inclinations, especially with regard
to Lloyd Mickey, a supposedly friendly rival. According to their plan, the
Herring Brothers would help out their friend-in-need, by holding onto his cash
and rare coin collection while he served time on an icky molestation
conviction, thereby protecting his finances from lawsuits. Now that Mickey is
out, he wants his money back. One thing leads to another, with the upshot being
one dead ex-con mortician. Since they do not have a lot of murders in these
parts, hard-charging Orlando Hudson is dispatched from the state’s Criminal
Investigation Department. Of course, he gets a chilly reception from Chief
Riley, even before evidence starts to link the Herrings to the murder.
The
case that inspired Making a Killing is
pretty crazy, but the best part of the film is Michael Jai White swaggering
through town as Hudson. Once again, he brings attitude, physicality, and a
larger than life presence. Frankly, he deserves to be a top-shelf box-office
draw, but neither life or Hollywood are fair. It is also satisfying to see a
veteran character actor like Mike Starr get to enjoy a rare star turn as Mayor
Herring, convincingly portraying him as a tragic figure, who lets his dodgy business
spiral out of control, despite his better judgement.
Just
like White and Starr, Christopher Lloyd has instant credibility playing weird
oddballs. Mickey is a darker figure than his iconic characters, but he is
believably creepy inhabiting the skin of the unsympathetic murder victim. Jack
Forcinito also adds some grit as Chief Riley, particularly in his tense scenes
baiting Hudson.
No
doubt about it, this is our kind of cast. Unfortunately, there is too much
slack in the screenplay. Hume spends way too much time getting to know the Herrings
and their hopes and dreams. Bringing out the complexity of their personalities is
one thing, but they are killers, so we only want to identify with them only so
far.