The art world is a cutthroat and judgemental arena. You’re the cat’s pajamas one day, but you’re old news if you take too long to deliver your next masterpiece. Surrounded by snobbery, bitter wine, and diamond-encrusted vultures waiting to pick your talented bones clean, artists endure a lot to remain relevant, and some would even kill for the chance to keep their spot in the public eye. In today’s The Kill Room trailer, a hitman, his boss, and an art dealer concoct a money laundering scheme that accidentally turns an assassin into an overnight avant-garde sensation.
Nicol Paone (This is 40, The Heartbreak Kid) directs from a script by Jonathan Jacobson (The Broken and the Bad, Kids), with Uma Thurman, Samuel L. Jackson, and Joe Manganiello leading the cast, with Maya Hawke, Mike Doyle, Debi Mazar, Matthew Maher, Marianne Rendón, Gionna Daddio, Jennifer Kim, Amy Keum, Brandon Curry, and more.
The Kill Room has the following synopsis: Patrice Capullo (Uma Thurman) has a big problem: her art gallery isn’t making money. Gordon (Samuel L. Jackson) has an even bigger problem. While arranging hits for the mob is lucrative, he & his” colleague” Reggie (Joe Manganiello) need a better way to launder their money. A chance introduction from Patrice’s drug dealer has the art world meet the underworld, and a plan is hatched. The one hitch: Patrice needs something to sell. With that, Reggie taps into his inner artist and makes a painting that immediately “sells” for an incredibly high price. When the noteworthy price for this new mystery artist accidentally leaks, the art career of “The Bagman” is born, attracting attention and press, something his superiors in the underworld are very unhappy with.
Thurman and Paone produced the film alongside Jordan Yale Levine, Jordan Beckerman, Anne Clements, William Rosenfeld, Bill Kenwright, Dannielle Thomas, and Jason Weinberg. The Kill Room is the second feature directorial effort from comedian/actress Nicol Paone, who made her debut with the 2020 comedy Friendsgiving.
After watching Dan Gilroy’s Velvet Buzzsaw in 2019, I’m ready to return to the art world for a disturbing and comedic take on keeping the doors of a struggling gallery wide open. The Kill Room trailer is right up my alley. How about you? Let us know what you think in the comments section below. The Kill Room releases on September 29, 2023.