Violet & Daisy are killers – hired assassins who can empty a room of life without blinking an eye. They're also a pair of teenage girls. Both treat the death business like a delightful romp. When they accept a job that's not what it seems, their veneer of spunky detachment is stripped away and they are plunged into a struggle to survive.

The titular duo of Violet & Daisy is played by Alexis Bledel (Mad Men) and Saoirse Ronan (Byzantium). The film also features Danny Trejo (Machete Kills), James Gandolfini (Killing Them Softly), and Marianne Jean-Baptiste (RoboCop). Violet & Daisy is written and directed by Geoffrey Fletcher (Precious).

This preview pulls off the admirable trick of showing plenty of Violet & Daisy without giving away all of its plot points. It focuses heavily on both the uncaring attitude of its protagonists and their confusion at being sent to bump off a man who seemingly has the upper hand on them. The main problem with the trailer is one of tone – it can't quite decide whether to sell the movie as a bloody comedy, serious crime thriller, or quirky drama.

There are enough cultural products about otherwise-unassuming girls becoming ruthless killers that it has become something of a subgenre at this point. Saoirse Ronan seems to be making a mini-career of it, having already appeared in Hanna – something of a seminal entry in the category. Fortunately, there's are hints in this preview that Geoffrey Fletcher is taking a lighter touch on Violet & Daisy. If the film can avoid the tonal inconsistency of its first trailer, it may end up being a must-see entry into this summer's deluge.

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Violet & Daisy will appear in US theaters in the summer of 2013.