The Killing

...is plotted with the kind of Swiss-watch precision and attention to detail that would eventually get Kubrick labeled Hollywood's most notorious perfectionist.

The heist is a perfectly-judged suspense sequence, but the flashbacks and -forwards let us in on the sad realities of the crooks' lives and hint at their dooms.

Considering that it cheerfully abandons any attempt at chronological suspense, "The Killing" is an unreasonable success.

Boldly stylized and intricately structured...