Review
Kill Me Three Times (Action, Comedy, Crime) (2014)
Director: Kriv Stenders
Writer: James McFarland
Stars: Simon Pegg, Alice Braga, Sullivan Stapleton, Luke Hemsworth
Hired to investigate an affair, a notorious hitman is captured within a town brimming with schemes, deception and unexpected events.
Premiering at the Toronto Film Festival, Kriv Stenders' "Kill Me Three Times" is a black comedy exploring the stringent ties in an Australian community, as everyone seems to be out for blood. Written by James McFarland, it's his debut screenplay being told from three perspectives. Filmed around Western Australia in Perth, Victoria and the Margaret River region, it was produced by Cargo Entertainment, Feisty Dame Productions, Media House Capital, Soundfirm Australia, Stable Way Entertainment and Parabolic Pictures Inc. while being distributed by Entertainment One Films and Magnet Releasing.
Taking on a straightforward private investigation for a local bar owner in Western Australia, Charlie Wolfe (Simon Pegg) instead is caught within a much wider plot, which piques his curiosity despite having to struggle for his payday.
Twisting a relatively elementary tale of dishonesty, murder and conspiracy. Stenders provides an asynchronous feature casting Pegg in the unusual role of a visually appealing bad guy.
Stalking his prey across a patch of Australian desert, Pegg's Charlie Wolfe receives a call from his latest employer, as we'll later find out. Elsewhere, marking the narrative's opening, Stapleton's Dentist Nathan Webb and his partner and receptionist in Palmer's Lucy, quite an essential scene unfolds as they kidnap Wolfe's later target. Through many shifts in synchronicity, the audience is able to revisit scenes furthering the primary narrative and devious sub-plots throughout Eagle's Nest. 
While staying relatively straightforward, constant back-and-forths through several points of view can be tiresome. Stenders' budget crime flick still has some notable names attached, despite some being early in their careers. Pegg is likely to stand out with an iconic look, or at least it would've been. Such a feature could hold loose comparisons to "Predestination", "Groundhog Day", and "Looper" despite deviating in genre and being out of sequential order, without any time travel.
Much of "Kill Me Three Times", despite the mentioned notable cast, just lacks charm. Sections we've been before, shown in a different light, fail to add enough to this web of deceit, nor does the script beam with conviction to tell an engaging mystery. This Stenders feature is an unobtrusive black comedy, semi-decent, serving as something unique in Pegg's back catalogue. However, it never amounts to much more than trivial revenge by a jealous husband.
Verdict
Kill me a fourth time.
4,0
