Despite the medium of animation often being casted aside as a lesser form of storytelling meant for children, every year there are a select number of animated films that know this to be false and impress as stories meant for mature audiences. This year one of those films is Mariusz Wilczyński‘s Kill It and Leave This Town. Rejecting traditional narrative ideas and instead crafting a chaotic yet meditative perspective on various characters and grotesque situations, Kill it and Leave This Town is undoubtedly not for the faint of heart but for those who can handle disturbing imagery. The film becomes wildly engaging and thoughtful even if narratively confusing and light.
Every style of animation naturally invokes a certain emotional response setting up the tone of the film from the very start of the running time. For Kill It and Leave This Town, the animation is stunning yet rough. With an adult edge of violence and nudity, the mostly black and white cut out almost in a stop motion style at times sets the film and its world up as a gritty and unforgiving place, with a cold brutalness soaking into every dirty corner. Within this, the film naturally finds a unique voice and feeling that did wonders when it came to engaging the audience into the film’s world.
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Part of this can be attributed to one of the most respectable parts of the animation, its ability to find a life within the cold hard reality of its world. From the films crafted small flashes of color to the thematic questions the film asks, the film despite being built by uncanny and even fantastical visuals, clearly is a meditation on the living real humanity from both the present and future. This living voice is what makes the film stand above being that of just a strong artistic direction. Instead the film absolutely stands as an artistic film, but also one with a legitimate voice that can be enjoyed as much as it can be respected.
Where there is a clear voice within the film, sadly there is not a clear direction when it comes to plot or narrative. Despite there being a general tie between segments, Kill It and Leave This Town often feels like a collection of short films rather than a singular powerful feature. The film will nonchalantly bounce between characters, stories, and worlds without feeling the need to set a followable path for the audience as it chaotically runs around.
Despite this lack of a clear narrative causing the film to feel messy and confusing at multiple points, it is far from enough to ruin the power of the film’s visuals and larger thematic explorations. This flaw holds the film back from being able to take the identity as a true masterpiece, but only pulls it back far enough to where the film can be described as exciting and impressive which is far from a terrible fate.
For those who doubt that animation can be used to capture mature stories and settings, Kill It and Leave This Town is all that is needed to serve as a counterpoint to this harmful stereotype. And is absolutely a rewarding experience to those who already respect the medium of animation. With some of the most captivating visuals of any film this year, a gritty yet undoubtedly cool style, and thematic weight; the film truly stands out as one of the best animated films of 2020 so far.
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