The Kill Team (2019 film)

The Kill Team is a 2019 American war drama film written and directed by Dan Krauss; a fictionalized adaptation of the events explored by an earlier documentary of the same name.[2] It stars Alexander Skarsgård, Nat Wolff, Rob Morrow, Adam Long, Jonathan Whitesell, Brian Marc, Osy Ikhile, and Anna Francolini. The film follows a young U.S. Army recruit (Wolff) who becomes conflicted with his morals when his platoon, under his superior, Sergeant Deeks (Skarsgård), participate in murdering civilians in Afghanistan.

The Kill Team
Theatrical release poster
Directed byDan Krauss
Produced by
Written byDan Krauss
Starring
Music byZacarias M. de la Riva
CinematographyStéphane Fontaine
Edited by
Production
companies
Distributed byA24
Release date
  • April 27, 2019 (2019-04-27) (Tribeca)
  • October 25, 2019 (2019-10-25) (United States)
Running time
87 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$415,772[1]

It had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 27, 2019, and was released theatrically and streaming on October 25, 2019, by A24.

Plot

In 2009, Andrew Briggman is a young recruit for U.S. Army in Afghanistan. When Sergeant Wallace is killed in IED explosion during a raid in a village, Staff Sergeant Deeks assumes the position as the leader of the platoon. Deeks tells the platoon that they will find whoever was responsible for the deaths of 24 American soldiers by raiding the villages. Briggman provides a list of IED attacks by date and location to Deeks. Bravo Company captures a wounded man, who is accused of planting the IED on the road, and Deeks orders Briggman to hurt the man but Briggman refuses.

On the first raid under the leadership of Deeks, Briggman hears a gunshot and arrives at the scene where he finds a young boy lying dead on the ground; the platoons claimed that the boy tried to attack them with a grenade, prompting the soldiers to shoot him. However, Briggman is skeptical, believing that the child was innocent. Inside the barracks, Briggman uses his laptop to send a message to his father about the murder of the young boy, prompting his father to call the Criminal Investigation Division (CID) to investigate Deeks.

Briggman is summoned to the tent where he finds Deeks assaulting a soldier, Marquez, whom Deeks accused him for calling the CID, with his platoon division in attendance. Marquez is subsequently hospitalized. Knowing that Deeks is aware of this, Briggman phones his father to stop calling the CID. On the second raid, Briggman witnesses Rayburn coldly executing the unarmed man and planting an AK-47 next to him to make it look like that the man fought back. At this point, Briggman becomes disillusioned.

Back to the barracks, Briggman sends the message to his father about the incident. Briggman then goes to Deek's office and finds several weapons packed inside the bag, but Deeks catches him, who tells Deeks that the unarmed man didn't deserve to die. Deeks also believes that the people in the villages are "co-operators" of the Jihadists. Deeks approaches Briggman at his bed and tells him that he is now aware of his actions against him. Briggman phones his father and breaks down in tears while dealing the dangerous matter during the tour.

On the third raid, the team is attacked by an unseen figure. Rayburn captures the old man, who does not say a word. Deeks orders Rayburn and the reluctant Briggman to execute the man on his count while setting up a grenade. As Deeks throws a grenade in front of the man (to make it look like that the man threw the grenade on them), Briggman, for the first time on his service, pulls the trigger and kills the man.

Back to the base, most of the platoons happily celebrate while Briggman is traumatized by the incident. Briggman finds Marquez had returned from the hospital and is told that Rayburn is being summoned by the CID for murdering the civilians and Briggman will also be next. Briggman, feeling guilty for his actions, goes to Deeks' office and attempts to commit suicide but cannot bring himself to do it. Briggman and Deeks are then brought to the CID for investigation. Arriving at the CID where his parents are invited to accompany him, the investigator tells Briggman to tell everything about the whole circumstances.

The closing credits reveal that five U.S. Army were charged for the murder of the civilians; Briggman pleaded guilty of involuntary manslaughter and was sentenced to three years after he testified against Staff Sergeant Deeks in the court, who was sentenced to life imprisonment.

Cast

Production

In October 2016, it was announced Nat Wolff and Alexander Skarsgård had joined the cast of the film, with Dan Krauss directing from a screenplay he wrote. Marty Bowen and Wyck Godfrey will serve as producers on the film under their Temple Hill Entertainment banner.[3] In September 2017, Rob Morrow joined the cast of the film.[4] In November 2017, it was announced Adam Long, Jonathan Whitesell and Brian Marc joined the cast of the film.[5]

Filming took place in Fuerteventura, one of the Canary Islands.[6]

Release

In November 2018, A24 acquired distribution rights to the film.[7] It had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 27, 2019.[8][9] It was released on October 25, 2019.[10]

Reception

Box office

As of December 17, 2020, The Kill Team has grossed $415,772 worldwide.[11]

Critical response

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 70% based on 50 reviews, with an average rating of 6.79/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Flawed yet viscerally effective, The Kill Team interrogates battlefield morality with a hard-hitting intensity further amplified by a talented cast."[12] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 60 out of 100, based on 14 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[13]

References
  1. {{cite web |title=The Kill Team (2019) |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt6196936/?ref_=bo_rl_ti #tab=summary |publisher=Box Office Mojo (website).
  2. James Barber, Military.com (August 15, 2019). "'The Kill Team,' now a feature, revisits one of the most disturbing tales of the Afghanistan war". Task & Purpose. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
  3. Loderhose, Diana (October 25, 2016). "Nat Wolff & Alexander Skarsgård Join Feature Adaptation Of War Doc 'The Kill Team'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 9, 2019.
  4. Hipes, Patrick (September 22, 2017). "Rob Morrow Joins War Drama 'The Kill Team'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 9, 2019.
  5. Mitchell, Wendy (November 1, 2017). "AFM: First image revealed of Nat Wolff and Alexander Skarsgard in 'The Kill Team' (exclusive)". Screen International. Retrieved March 9, 2019.
  6. De Pablos, Emiliano (September 27, 2017). "San Sebastián: Tax Rebates for Foreign Shoots Reach 40% in Spain's Canary Islands". Variety. Retrieved September 10, 2020.
  7. McNary, Dave (November 1, 2018). "A24 Buys Alexander Skarsgard-Nat Wolff Military Drama 'Kill Team' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved March 9, 2019.
  8. Hayes, Dade (March 5, 2019). "Tribeca Film Festival Unveils Feature Lineup, With Screen Time For John DeLorean, Muhammad Ali, Chelsea Manning". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 9, 2019.
  9. "The Kill Team". Tribeca Film Festival. Retrieved March 13, 2019.
  10. Billington, Alex (August 13, 2019). "Nat Wolff & Alexander Skarsgård in [b]War Drama[/b] 'The Kill Team' Trailer". FirstShowing.net. Retrieved August 13, 2019.
  11. "The Kill Team". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2020-12-21.
  12. "The Kill Team (2019)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved August 12, 2020.
  13. "The Kill Team Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved November 4, 2019.
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