I Hired a Contract Killer is a film directed, produced and written by the Finnish auteur Aki Kaurismäki in 1990.

One day, he is notified that despite fifteen years of service, he has been laid off, effective immediately, from his office job at the London waterworks because the government wants to privatize the business and foreigners have to be fired first.

One day, Henri comes across a story in the newspaper about contract killers, so he pawns a watch and goes to the Honolulu Bar to meet them.

They agree to do the job within two weeks and tell him to contact them in time if he changes his mind, though Henri assures them that he won't.

In the meantime, bored of waiting at home for the killer, Henri leaves a note on his door indicating that he's gone to the pub opposite.

There, he has a chance encounter with Margaret, a woman selling flowers there, and the two immediately strike up a conversation and plan to meet in the future.

Margaret advises him to visit the Honolulu Bar to cancel the order and decides to go to Henri's flat to get his belongings, thinking she is safe because the killer doesn't know her.

Meanwhile, the killer, recovered, is told by the doctor that he has a form of cancer and only one to two months left to live but he decides that is still enough time to kill Henri.