John Dahl’s latest signals that he’s back

I’ve been a fan of John Dahl ’s since 1992. That’s when I first saw his second film, “Red Rock West,” at the old Magic Lantern Theatre (at its old location, 123 N. Wall St.).

Since then, I’ve seen, either on the big screen or on video (and/or DVD), “Kill Me Again,” “The Last Seduction,” “Unforgettable,” “Rounders,” “Joy Ride,” “The Great Raid” and most recently “You Kill Me.”

When he started out, Dahl worked purely in the realm of the neo-noir. Boasting only a whisper of the irony wielded so belligerently by the likes of Quentin Tarantino , Robert Rodriguez and Roger Avary , Dahl specialized in taut little works of betrayal and paranoia.

It was only with 1998’s “Rounders,” when he worked with a cast that included Matt Damon and Edward Norton, that Dahl began to go Hollywood. But it was never a good fit. By the time he was directing the Paul Walker feature “Joy Ride” and the old-school war film “The Great Raid,” Dahl had strayed about as far from his roots as is possible.

I half expected his next film to star the likes of Lindsay Lohan .

Instead, he gave us “You Kill Me,” which turns out to be a pretty nice comeback. It stars Ben Kingsley, still working off his “Sexy Beast” inertia, as Frank Falenczyk, a drunken hitman for a Polish mob family in Buffalo, N.Y. When he blows an important assignment, Frank is sent by his uncle (Philip Baker Hall) to San Francisco with orders to dry out. Or else.

Not only does he get involved with AA, but he finds a sponsor (Luke Wilson) and a woman ( Téa Leoni) to love. So that when he is called back to Buffalo for the film’s obligatorily redemptive ending, he is a new man.

So many thing work in the film – from the abilities of Kingsley and Leoni to deliver the lines written by screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely to the editing that emphasizes those deliveries with perfect timing to the tone that rides the line of comedy-drama with unerring skill – that you have to credit Dahl.

At least I do. It’s nice to see him back doing what he does best.

Below: Director John Dahl and stars Téa Leoni and Ben Kingsley pose for photos at the premiere of Dahl’s new film “You Kill Me.”

Associated Press