I Hired a Contract Killer (1990) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

After his two suicide attempts fail, both hanging and gassing himself, Henri realizes he lacks the nerve to do it himself. The newspaper story about contract killers presents a solution that doesn't require him to act. He pawns a watch to raise the money, suggesting he's looking for an external force to make the decision for him. When he meets Margaret and falls in love, this creates a conflict: he's already paid the killers but now wants to live.

Foreshadowing: Earlier failed suicide attempts foreshadow Henri's inability to take decisive action on his own life.

• henri boulanger
• contract killer
• suicide
• decision
• methodology

The killers warned Henri at the start that he could change his mind if he wanted to back out, but when Henri tries to cancel, the Honolulu Bar has been demolished, making it impossible to contact them. Additionally, the killer has already accepted the job and appears committed to completing it. The killer's determination may also stem from his later cancer diagnosis, he has nothing left to lose and sees the contract as one final task.

• contract killer
• cancellation
• honolulu bar
• pursuit
• motivation

When the killer tails Margaret back to her building, he watches her enter the lift but doesn't follow. This suggests he still views her as peripheral to his actual target, Henri. He's gathering information about Henri's connections but doesn't see Margaret as worth eliminating. The moment also hints at the killer's humanity; he hesitates to involve an innocent woman directly in his mission.

• killer
• margaret
• lift
• tailing
• hesitation

The killer has just been told he has terminal cancer with only a month or two to live. During the final confrontation, he acknowledges his impending death. Rather than dying at someone else's hands or in prison, he chooses to end things on his own terms. His suicide represents a final act of control over his own fate, something Henri has been seeking throughout the film as well, though in the opposite direction.

Foreshadowing: The killer's earlier coughing fits and blood hint at his underlying illness.

• killer
• suicide
• cancer
• death
• choice
• ending

Henri follows the killer's two associates to a jeweller's shop, intending to confront them. During a struggle between the associates and the jeweller, a shot is fired and the jeweller is killed. The thieves quickly place the gun into Henri's hands and flee, leaving him holding the weapon. Henri then discards the gun to avoid suspicion, but he's already been implicated in the murder before police later clear him.

• henri
• jeweller
• murder
• framed
• gun
• thieves

The Honolulu Bar is the meeting point where Henri originally hired the killers. When Margaret suggests Henri cancel the job, he needs to go there to contact them. But the bar has been demolished by the time he tries, this means there's no way for him to formally withdraw his request. The contract remains technically active, which explains why the killer continues his mission despite Henri's change of heart.

• honolulu bar
• demolished
• cancellation
• contract
• meeting point

Margaret receives a letter from Henri that brings her to tears and leads her to the French hamburger shack where Henri has found work. This is where they're planning to meet to arrange tickets and leave the country together. The hamburger shack represents Henri's attempt at a new beginning, finding employment and preparing for a life with Margaret, away from London and the danger surrounding him.

• margaret
• hamburger shack
• letter
• tickets
• departure
• new life

The killer receives his cancer diagnosis shortly after the hotel escape. Rather than giving up the contract, his response is that everyone must die eventually, he sees Henri's death as still worth completing within his remaining one to two months. The diagnosis seems to intensify his resolve rather than diminish it, possibly because he wants to accomplish something before his own time runs out. He's now racing against his own mortality.

• killer
• cancer
• diagnosis
• terminal
• deadline
• motivation

The film ends with Henri narrowly avoiding being hit by a taxi that swerves past him. The taxi is shown carrying a passenger, and given the context of Henri and Margaret planning to leave together, it's strongly implied that Margaret is the driver. This near-miss serves as a final dramatic beat, Henri survives yet another close call, and the film leaves their future uncertain but hopeful.

• taxi
• margaret
• ending
• near miss
• final scene
• hope

When the killer forces his way into Margaret's flat and threatens her to wait for Henri's return, she's facing certain danger. However, when footsteps approach, Margaret takes action and strikes the killer, knocking him unconscious. This shows Margaret's resourcefulness and courage despite being seemingly vulnerable. The attack gives Henri and Margaret the window they need to escape to the hotel.

• margaret
• killer
• unconscious
• attack
• escape
• courage

Henri's entire arc in London has been one of isolation, unemployment, failed suicide, and then being pursued by a contract killer. Meeting Margaret gave him a reason to live, but London is now filled with dangerous memories and ongoing threats. Leaving represents a fresh start, a chance to build a new life with Margaret away from the city where he experienced his lowest moments. The tickets they arrange symbolize their commitment to this new chapter together.

• henri
• margaret
• london
• departure
• new start
• escape