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Please Kill Mr. Know It All (2013) movie poster

Characters & Themes

Please Kill Mr. Know It All (2013) Characters, Setting & Themes Explained

Release, runtime and language
2013 · 87 mins · English
Directed by
Sandra Feldman, Colin Carter
Starring
Al Sapienza, Billy MacLellan, Lara Jean Chorostecki, Colin Mochrie, Tom Wilson, Pedro Miguel Arce

An anonymous advice columnist finds herself caught in an unlikely romance with the man who has been hired to kill her alter ego.

Crime Comedy Romance Cast, crew & box office
On this page (7)
  1. 1 Where to watch
  2. 2 Characters explained (5)
  3. 3 Where & when it takes place
  4. 4 Themes & meaning (3)
  5. 5 Character & meaning questions
  6. 6 Movie threads
  7. 7 Every angle

Where to watch

Where to Watch Please Kill Mr. Know It All (2013)

Where can you watch Please Kill Mr. Know It All? Stream, rent or buy it in the US, including on Hoopla, The CW and Fandango at Home Free: current JustWatch availability with up-to-date prices.

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5 main characters · contains spoilers

Please Kill Mr. Know It All Characters Explained: Who Is Who

The main characters of Please Kill Mr. Know It All (2013), heroes and villains: what drives them, how they change over the course of the story and what each of them reveals about the film's bigger ideas.

  • Sally (Lara Jean Chorostecki)

    Cynical ghostwriter of the advice column 'Mr. Know It All' who longs for romance and a real voice in her own life. She carefully guards her secret as the column's true author, navigating trust and fear as her connection with Albert deepens. Her wit and vulnerability drive the emotional core of the story.

    • 📝 Writer
    • 💖 Complex
    • 🎭 Deception

  • Albert (Colin Mochrie)

    A handsome stranger who is revealed to be a contract killer. He balances a dangerous cover with an emerging attraction to Sally, creating a tense duality between duty and desire. His choices will determine whether love survives the mob's reach.

    • 🕵️‍♂️ Assassin
    • 🌀 Conflicted
    • 💬 Charmer

  • Mob Boss (Al Sapienza)

    Heartbroken by a column’s fame, the mob boss orchestrates a desperate plan to eliminate the mysterious writer. He exerts quiet control over the danger surrounding Sally and Albert, pushing the plot toward a deadly confrontation. His fear of exposure drives reckless decisions.

    • 🧭 Leader
    • 💼 Ruthless
    • 🃏 Calculated

  • Patti (Kristina Pesic)

    Sally's best friend and agent who spins a lie to protect the author’s privacy, setting off a chain of consequences. She navigates the pressures of fame and loyalty, grappling with the moral weight of deception.

    • 🤝 Friend
    • 🧠 Strategist
    • 🗣️ Liaison

  • One-Legged Man (Dylan Roberts)

    A vengeful figure who enters the fray, hinting at his own motive for revenge and increasing the danger for Sally and Albert. His presence adds an unpredictable layer to the criminal web surrounding the couple.

    • 🦾 Outcast
    • 🗡️ Avenger
    • 🕳️ Enigma

Last updated: October 03, 2025 at 09:49

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Setting

Where and When Does Please Kill Mr. Know It All Take Place?

The setting of Please Kill Mr. Know It All (2013): the year and time period, the places and locations, and how they shape the characters, the mood and the tension of the story.

Time period

Present day

The story sits squarely in modern times, with viral fame, hidden-camera interviews, and social media-like attention driving the plot. Newsrooms, celebrity culture, and organized crime intersect in a palpable contemporary tension. The immediacy of technology amplifies deceit and peril as events unfold.

Location

Newspaper office, Movie theater, City

The story unfolds across a contemporary urban landscape anchored by a glossy newsroom and the dim, suspenseful spaces of a movie theater. The visible world of paparazzi, interviews, and the press shapes the characters' choices and heightens the stakes. A clandestine mob world looms in the background, hinting at dangerous consequences for those who cross it.

  • 📰 Newsroom
  • 🎭 Theatre
  • 🏙️ Urban setting

Last updated: October 03, 2025 at 09:49

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3 major themes

Please Kill Mr. Know It All Meaning: Themes & Message Explained

What is Please Kill Mr. Know It All (2013) really about? The emotional, social and philosophical themes the film keeps returning to, its symbolism and the message beneath the surface.

  • Love vs Loyalty

    Romantic tension between Sally and Albert forces them to choose between trust and danger. The relationship evolves as personal feelings collide with professional and criminal obligations. Loyalties are tested when truth could cost lives, and both must decide what they are willing to risk for happiness.

  • Identity & Truth

    Sally hides behind the Mr. Know It All persona, while Albert's true role as a hitman is concealed to protect his cover. The revelation of who is the writer and who is the enforcer flips loyalties and calls into question appearances versus reality. The story probes whether truth can survive under threat.

  • Power & Consequences

    The mob boss's heartbreak triggers drastic actions that ripple through the lives of the lovers and the killer. Violence is engineered as a tool to reshape relationships and survival. The plot shows how desire for control can endanger innocents and complicate moral boundaries.

Last updated: October 03, 2025 at 09:49

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Character & theme questions

Please Kill Mr. Know It All Characters & Meaning: Your Questions Answered

The questions people ask about Please Kill Mr. Know It All (2013): who the characters really are, their relationships, what the symbols mean, where it takes place and what the movie is really about. Each answer contains spoilers.

Q1

Where does the movie take place?

The story unfolds in a contemporary urban setting, primarily in a glossy newspaper office and the dim, suspenseful spaces of a movie theater. The characters operate within a world of paparazzi, interviews, and media attention, while a clandestine mob world lurks in the background.

  • setting
  • newspaper office
  • movie theater
  • city
  • urban
Q2

When is the story set?

The movie is set in the present day, where viral fame, hidden-camera interviews, and social media-like attention drive the plot. Newsrooms, celebrity culture, and organized crime intersect to create contemporary tension.

  • present day
  • modern times
  • contemporary
Q3

What is the Identity & Truth theme about?

The story explores how Sally hides behind the Mr. Know It All persona while Albert conceals his true role as a hitman. The revelation of who is the writer and who is the enforcer flips loyalties and calls into question whether truth can survive under threat.

  • identity
  • truth
  • deception
  • mr know it all
  • hidden identity
Q4

What is the Love vs Loyalty theme about?

Romantic tension between Sally and Albert forces them to choose between trust and danger. Their relationship evolves as personal feelings collide with professional and criminal obligations, with loyalties tested when truth could cost lives.

  • love
  • loyalty
  • romance
  • trust
  • relationship
Q5

What is the Power & Consequences theme about?

The mob boss's heartbreak triggers drastic actions that ripple through the lives of the lovers and the killer. Violence is engineered as a tool to reshape relationships and survival, showing how desire for control can endanger innocents and complicate moral boundaries.

  • power
  • mob
  • violence
  • consequences
  • control
Q6

Who is Sally in the movie?

Sally is a cynical ghostwriter who pens the advice column 'Mr. Know It All' while longing for romance and a real voice in her own life. She carefully guards her secret as the column's true author, navigating trust and fear as her connection with Albert deepens.

  • sally
  • lara jean chorostecki
  • mr know it all
  • ghostwriter
  • advice columnist
Q7

Who is Albert in the movie?

Albert is a handsome stranger revealed to be a contract killer hired to eliminate the author of 'Mr. Know It All.' He balances a dangerous cover with an emerging attraction to Sally, creating a tense duality between duty and desire.

  • albert
  • colin mochrie
  • hitman
  • killer
  • contract killer
Q8

Why does the mob boss want the columnist dead?

The mob boss becomes heartbroken by the column's fame and orchestrates a desperate plan to eliminate the mysterious writer. His fear of exposure drives reckless decisions, pushing the plot toward a deadly confrontation.

  • mob boss
  • al sapienza
  • motivation
  • fame
  • revenge
Q9

Who is Patti in the movie?

Patti is Sally's best friend and agent who spins a lie to protect the author's privacy, setting off a chain of consequences. She navigates the pressures of fame and loyalty, grappling with the moral weight of deception.

  • patti
  • kristina pesic
  • agent
  • best friend
Q10

Who is the One-Legged Man in the movie?

The One-Legged Man is a vengeful figure who enters the fray with his own motive for revenge, adding an unpredictable layer to the criminal web surrounding Sally and Albert.

  • one-legged man
  • dyllan roberts
  • revenge
  • villain
Q11

What genre is the movie and what is its tone?

Please Kill Mr. Know It All blends Crime, Comedy, and Romance genres. The tone is tense as the threat of violence and central deception create sustained anxiety, though the romantic subplot and comedic elements prevent it from being purely dark.

  • genre
  • comedy
  • crime
  • romance
  • tone

Movie threads

More Movies Like Please Kill Mr. Know It All, by Mood & Story

Curated lists built around what makes Please Kill Mr. Know It All tick: the same mood, the same kind of story or the same emotional payoff. Each list explains why these movies belong together.

Movies about forbidden hitman romance like Please Kill Mr. Know It All

Romantic tension sparks between a killer and their target, blurring professional lines. If you liked the tension of a killer falling for their target in 'Please Kill Mr. Know It All', explore these other movies. This list features similar crime romance stories where professional duty clashes with forbidden love, creating high-stakes emotional drama.

  • forbidden romance
  • suspenseful
  • tense
  • moral conflict
  • dangerous
  • deception
  • Tone: tense, romantic, dangerous
  • Pacing: steady, character-driven
Why these movies?

The story pattern: The narrative pattern follows a contract killer who, while preparing for their assignment, becomes personally involved with the intended victim. This creates a central moral conflict as the killer's professional ethics are tested by genuine romantic feelings, leading to a plot driven by deception, discovery, and a race against time to prevent the hit.

Why they belong together: Movies are grouped here because they share the core premise of a forbidden romance entangled with a deadly profession. They consistently deliver a mix of suspense from the impending threat and the fragile, tense energy of a relationship built on a dangerous secret.

Lured movie poster

Lured

2019
The Girl Who Had Everything movie poster

The Girl Who Had Everything

1953
Affair in Trinidad movie poster

Affair in Trinidad

1952
Please Kill Mr. Know It All movie poster

Please Kill Mr. Know It All

2013
Appointment with Danger movie poster

Appointment with Danger

1950
Confidentially Yours movie poster

Confidentially Yours

1983
Strangers in the Night movie poster

Strangers in the Night

2012
My Blood Runs Cold movie poster

My Blood Runs Cold

1965

Movies about hidden identity and suspense like Please Kill Mr. Know It All

Protagonists living a lie face escalating danger as their secret threatens to unravel. Find more movies like 'Please Kill Mr. Know It All' where a character's secret identity creates constant tension. These films feature protagonists living a double life, blending crime, romance, or drama with the anxious thrill of a secret about to be exposed.

  • hidden identity
  • suspenseful
  • anxious
  • deception
  • uncertain
  • tense
  • Tone: anxious, tense, uncertain
  • Pacing: steady, suspenseful build
Why these movies?

The story pattern: These narratives typically unfold with a protagonist successfully managing a deceptive identity, which is suddenly threatened by an external event or a new relationship. The plot revolves around the increasing difficulty of maintaining the lie, leading to moments of near-discovery, moral quandaries, and a climax where the secret is inevitably confronted.

Why they belong together: They are grouped together by the shared mood of sustained anxiety generated by a central deception. The viewing experience is defined by the tension of waiting for the other shoe to drop, creating a steady, nerve-wracking pace where every interaction is charged with the risk of exposure.

A Double Life movie poster

A Double Life

1947
Deception movie poster

Deception

2008
The Secret Partner movie poster

The Secret Partner

1961
Confidentially Yours movie poster

Confidentially Yours

1983
The Double movie poster

The Double

2014
Twin Husbands movie poster

Twin Husbands

1933
Double Lover movie poster

Double Lover

2018
Deceived movie poster

Deceived

2011

Every angle

Please Kill Mr. Know It All (2013) Explained: Plot, Timeline & Characters

Everything about Please Kill Mr. Know It All in one place: what happens in the plot summary, the timeline in chronological order, the characters and meaning and a spoiler-free summary. What's After the Movie adds the cast, box office and post-credit scenes.

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