The Killer Inside Me (2010)

Casey Affleck is a sadistic Texas deputy in zig-zagging director Michael Winterbottom's adaptation of Jim Thompson's pulp novel. Winterbottom seems on a mission to direct every kind of movie, and direct it well (what's next? A Bollywood musical? The new Garfield movie?). The only maniac cop movie that intertwines sex and violence as thoroughly is Nick Ray's "On Dangerous Ground". But the Robert Ryan character in that film was warped by the job and tormented by his own behavior. Affleck on the other hand is a tranquil sociopath. Plus, the Nick Ray film was made in the fifties, and nowadays you can show things that could only be hinted at then. This film is appallingly brutal at times, there is a scene near the beginning that hits a new low in violence. There are at least two scenes that contain shocking and heartbreaking violence towards women, even by today's standards. I'm recommending this only because it's directed with care, wonderfully acted, and the most acrid film I've seen in ages. I'll probably see Affleck's dead eyes and mask-like face when I close my eyes tonight.