Sam has a pretty dangerous job – she’s a professional killer. But things don’t always go smoothly. And Berlin also plays a role.
Berlin – In action films you still rarely see women as contract killers. But that is slowly changing – with the television series “Killing Eve”, for example, or the new movie “Gunpowder Milkshake”.
It’s about the professional killer Sam (Karen Gillan), who was abandoned by her mother as a child. Now she works for “the company”. When one of their jobs goes differently than expected, Sam himself becomes a target.
Director Navot Papushado’s film (“Big Bad Wolves”) is a bit reminiscent of “Kill Bill” or the “John Wick” series. A central location is a library – it is run by several women who covertly trade weapons there.
Well, some pictures are a bit flat. For example, when the weapons are hidden in the books of well-known authors. But you can also take it with amusement and irony. Also in the film: In addition to leading actress Karen Gillan (“Jumanji”, “The Circle”), actresses Lena Headey (“Game of Thrones”) and Carla Gugino (“Watchmen”), among others.
The film was shot in Berlin. The Bode Museum can be seen as an exterior view of the library. The area around the exhibition grounds should also sound familiar to many people who know the city well. For example, part of the “Hunger Games” series was filmed here in an underpass.
“Gunpowder Milkshake” shows a world of candy and neon colors with a bit of retro charm – with old clamshell phones, music by Janis Joplin and a 1950s-style diner.
The film tells a rather simple story, but with a funny undertone and a theme that can be interpreted in a bigger way. There is a group of men called “the company”, it says in an important dialogue at one point, for example.
You would have been in control for a long time. “You consider yourself inviolable. They think they can get away with anything, ”says one actress. “But they won’t?” – “No, not anymore.”
Gunpowder Milkshake, USA / France 2021, 115 min., FSK from 18, by Navot Papushado, with Karen Gillan, Lena Headey, Carla Gugino dpa
