The Killing evaluates the lives of professional thieves who are plotting to steal a lot of cash quickly. They want to have an easy life, and they feel that this is the way. In order to make the film believable as well as to create a feeling of the dark underside of life, director Stanley Kubrick uses a gritty film style that makes the events seem devastatingly real. Viewers are never in any doubt that all of these things could happen and even might happen in our world.

Younger viewers may not be accustomed to black and white films. In this case, the lack of color adds to the film. The cinematography uses the light and dark contrast of black and white for a visual effect. Viewers are able to see the good and bad in terms of the lightness or darkness of the...