Henri (Jean-Pierre Léaud) is feeling so low that he resolves to end his life, though not through conventional means. Instead, he hires a local gangster for £1,000 to carry out the task like a professional hit. The gangster accepts, seeing it as a straightforward transaction, and assigns the job to his experienced enforcer, Kenneth Colley—who also has his own troubles. Complicating things further, Henri is in a pub, a…

Aki Kaurismäki developed a consistent visual style early in his career, and it’s remained recognizable for many years. His movies typically feature working-class individuals facing hardship, with their emotions expressed through an emotionless, flat delivery. The settings are usually bleak industrial areas and decaying docks. In 1990, Kaurismäki transported this established approach, which he'd honed in Helsinki, to …