Natural Born Killers: The Director's Cut
3/4
Starring: Woody Harrelson, Juliette Lewis, Tom Sizemore, Tommy Lee Jones, Robert Downey, Jr.
This is the Unrated Director's Cut. For the record, the theatrical cut was rated R for Extreme Violence and Graphic Carnage, for Shocking Images, and for Strong Language and Sexuality
"Borat" became a monster hit because it unveiled the stereotypes, buffoonery and stupidity that lives in the lowest places of America. 12 years earlier, Oliver Stone peeled back the veil of civilization and exposed some hard truths: people love witnessing train wrecks, and the media is all too willing to exploit it in a quest for ratings.
I remember watching the news one evening with my parents. I was a young kid at the time, but I had seen more than a few of the local news casts. They were filled with short stories about recent murders, arrests and other sorts of grim human behavior. I asked my mother why the news always insisted on constantly airing these violent news stories. She told me that they need gripping stories like this to keep people tuning in. To be fair, they do occasionally air stories about lighter and more inspirational topics, but in suburbia, those aren't particularly memorable or interesting to begin with.
This isn't the act of a desperate news station with a love for the lurid. They're simply reflecting human nature. Stories of violence and depravity grip us far more than lighter fare. For example, when I say "Hurricane Sandy," which do you think of first: the destruction left by the storm, or the charitable response to help the victims? Unless you're Mother Theresa, it's going to be the former.
Don't worry, you're not a psychopath. I think of that too. Everyone does. It's how we're wired as a species. Whether it's a survival mechanism or what, I don't know. But that fact is why the local news channel is constantly airing stories of violence when they're really quite rare, and why Casey Anthony, OJ Simpson, the Aurora shootings and the Virginia Tech massacre stay in our minds far longer than kinder and more common stories, like how a group of Egyptian Muslims acted as protectors for Coptic Christians going to celebrate Christmas Eve mass after a terrorist attack on Christians by Muslim fanatics.
Our attraction to the lurid isn't Stone's point. Plenty of other movies have done that, even before "Natural Born Killers." Stone's movie is about how the media feeds on it and warps our perception of violence. One guy says "Mass murder is wrong, but if I were a serial killer, I'd be Mickey and Mallory." Through constant news coverage, specifically "American Maniacs," a Jerry Springer-like show that obsessively covers serial killers.
Mickey (Harrelson) and Mallory (Lewis) Knox are lovers who go on a mass murder spree. They wreck havoc on Route 666 (ha ha ha), but always leave one person alive to bear witness to their crimes. On their trail, is hotshot detective Jack Scagnetti (Sizemore) and "American Maniacs" host Wayne Gale (Downey, Jr.).
This film isn't really about plot. Very little of it is meant to be taken literally. Stone is making a comment not on serial killers (we have plenty of those movies already), but on violence in general. For example, Mallory's abusive childhood with her sexually abusive father (Rodney Dangerfield) and inattentive mother (Edie McClurg), is presented as a sitcom (a purposefully trashy one) complete with music. The murder scenes are realistically brutal, but they're stylized like an action movie. Stone's point is that by "explaining" and "reporting" these crimes, we are inherently sensationalizing them. Copycat killers don't kill because of movies or music. They copy and kill because they want their 15 minutes of fame.
Think about it. When a tragedy happens, it gets a name (even if it's simple like the Aurora shootings), a musical intro and a logo. Pop psychiatrists weigh in. Politicians pontificate about gun control versus personal freedom. Helicopter parents get panicky. Don't think for a second that Stone hasn't thought about this. This is what the movie is about.
The performances are good, but really, this is Stone's show. The actors are simply his materials. Normally it would be a criticism for a director to manipulate his actors so obviously, but this isn't a normal movie. Plus, Harrelson and Lewis are talented actors, and they bridge the gap. Tom Sizemore, normally a powerhouse character actor, isn't as successful at distinguishing himself from the special effects. Robert Downey, Jr. on the other hand, is awful. Whether this was an intentional decision on the part of Downey and Stone, but Wayne Gale is incredibly irritating.
Visually, there's always something new going on. The camera effects never slow down and never stop. It's Stone's way of getting us to see how the media has warped Mickey and Mallory. Would they have caused as much carnage without the media frenzy? Possibly. It's an interesting and provocative question, but it isn't really on Stone's agenda. He's concerned with the aftermath. It becomes a little too much at times, but it gets the job done.
The MPAA initially gave this film an NC-17 and forced Stone to resubmit it over and over again to get the R rating. The MPAA's reaction to it doesn't surprise me. The MPAA, for all of its hypocrisy, is part of the problem that Stone is railing against, and they were clearly smart enough to recognize it. It pushes the R rating to the limit, but there are definitely more violent movies out there that didn't bother the MPAA ("Sin City" comes to mind). No doubt that the MPAA tried their best to muzzle Stone, but this film is a live wire; no amount of minute cuts could dilute its message. Apparently, the MPAA was concerned about its overall feeling of chaos, rather than any one scene. It's hard to cut enough of a film to change its tone.
"Natural Born Killers" has achieved a degree of infamy due to its message, its methods and a number of copycat crimes it "inspired." Although John Grisham, who was a friend of one of the victims of LSD-induced copycats (which is probably what the real cause was), sued the filmmakers and the studio, the case was thrown out (justifiably, since it would have infringed on Stone's First Amendment rights). This proves Stone's point: media frenzy, not movies or music, fuels crime sprees (at least in part...mental illness is the real cause).
Interestingly enough, the film was marketed, and in some instances still today, as a predictor of where we're headed. If the frenzies surrounding Casey Anthony, Virginia Tech and the Aurora shootings (which inspired other massacres that were fortunately foiled) are any indication, we're already there.
I'm of two minds of whether or not to recommend this movie. On the one hand, it's an important film that takes a hard but mandatory look at our culture and what we value. On the other, it's too long and occasionally overbearing. It may be that the director's cut is part of the problem, and the shorter, theatrical cut may be a more effective version. Initially, I gave it a 2.5/4, but I think for what it says, it's worth seeing.
Starring: Woody Harrelson, Juliette Lewis, Tom Sizemore, Tommy Lee Jones, Robert Downey, Jr.
This is the Unrated Director's Cut. For the record, the theatrical cut was rated R for Extreme Violence and Graphic Carnage, for Shocking Images, and for Strong Language and Sexuality
"Borat" became a monster hit because it unveiled the stereotypes, buffoonery and stupidity that lives in the lowest places of America. 12 years earlier, Oliver Stone peeled back the veil of civilization and exposed some hard truths: people love witnessing train wrecks, and the media is all too willing to exploit it in a quest for ratings.
I remember watching the news one evening with my parents. I was a young kid at the time, but I had seen more than a few of the local news casts. They were filled with short stories about recent murders, arrests and other sorts of grim human behavior. I asked my mother why the news always insisted on constantly airing these violent news stories. She told me that they need gripping stories like this to keep people tuning in. To be fair, they do occasionally air stories about lighter and more inspirational topics, but in suburbia, those aren't particularly memorable or interesting to begin with.
This isn't the act of a desperate news station with a love for the lurid. They're simply reflecting human nature. Stories of violence and depravity grip us far more than lighter fare. For example, when I say "Hurricane Sandy," which do you think of first: the destruction left by the storm, or the charitable response to help the victims? Unless you're Mother Theresa, it's going to be the former.
Don't worry, you're not a psychopath. I think of that too. Everyone does. It's how we're wired as a species. Whether it's a survival mechanism or what, I don't know. But that fact is why the local news channel is constantly airing stories of violence when they're really quite rare, and why Casey Anthony, OJ Simpson, the Aurora shootings and the Virginia Tech massacre stay in our minds far longer than kinder and more common stories, like how a group of Egyptian Muslims acted as protectors for Coptic Christians going to celebrate Christmas Eve mass after a terrorist attack on Christians by Muslim fanatics.
Our attraction to the lurid isn't Stone's point. Plenty of other movies have done that, even before "Natural Born Killers." Stone's movie is about how the media feeds on it and warps our perception of violence. One guy says "Mass murder is wrong, but if I were a serial killer, I'd be Mickey and Mallory." Through constant news coverage, specifically "American Maniacs," a Jerry Springer-like show that obsessively covers serial killers.
Mickey (Harrelson) and Mallory (Lewis) Knox are lovers who go on a mass murder spree. They wreck havoc on Route 666 (ha ha ha), but always leave one person alive to bear witness to their crimes. On their trail, is hotshot detective Jack Scagnetti (Sizemore) and "American Maniacs" host Wayne Gale (Downey, Jr.).
This film isn't really about plot. Very little of it is meant to be taken literally. Stone is making a comment not on serial killers (we have plenty of those movies already), but on violence in general. For example, Mallory's abusive childhood with her sexually abusive father (Rodney Dangerfield) and inattentive mother (Edie McClurg), is presented as a sitcom (a purposefully trashy one) complete with music. The murder scenes are realistically brutal, but they're stylized like an action movie. Stone's point is that by "explaining" and "reporting" these crimes, we are inherently sensationalizing them. Copycat killers don't kill because of movies or music. They copy and kill because they want their 15 minutes of fame.
Think about it. When a tragedy happens, it gets a name (even if it's simple like the Aurora shootings), a musical intro and a logo. Pop psychiatrists weigh in. Politicians pontificate about gun control versus personal freedom. Helicopter parents get panicky. Don't think for a second that Stone hasn't thought about this. This is what the movie is about.
The performances are good, but really, this is Stone's show. The actors are simply his materials. Normally it would be a criticism for a director to manipulate his actors so obviously, but this isn't a normal movie. Plus, Harrelson and Lewis are talented actors, and they bridge the gap. Tom Sizemore, normally a powerhouse character actor, isn't as successful at distinguishing himself from the special effects. Robert Downey, Jr. on the other hand, is awful. Whether this was an intentional decision on the part of Downey and Stone, but Wayne Gale is incredibly irritating.
Visually, there's always something new going on. The camera effects never slow down and never stop. It's Stone's way of getting us to see how the media has warped Mickey and Mallory. Would they have caused as much carnage without the media frenzy? Possibly. It's an interesting and provocative question, but it isn't really on Stone's agenda. He's concerned with the aftermath. It becomes a little too much at times, but it gets the job done.
The MPAA initially gave this film an NC-17 and forced Stone to resubmit it over and over again to get the R rating. The MPAA's reaction to it doesn't surprise me. The MPAA, for all of its hypocrisy, is part of the problem that Stone is railing against, and they were clearly smart enough to recognize it. It pushes the R rating to the limit, but there are definitely more violent movies out there that didn't bother the MPAA ("Sin City" comes to mind). No doubt that the MPAA tried their best to muzzle Stone, but this film is a live wire; no amount of minute cuts could dilute its message. Apparently, the MPAA was concerned about its overall feeling of chaos, rather than any one scene. It's hard to cut enough of a film to change its tone.
"Natural Born Killers" has achieved a degree of infamy due to its message, its methods and a number of copycat crimes it "inspired." Although John Grisham, who was a friend of one of the victims of LSD-induced copycats (which is probably what the real cause was), sued the filmmakers and the studio, the case was thrown out (justifiably, since it would have infringed on Stone's First Amendment rights). This proves Stone's point: media frenzy, not movies or music, fuels crime sprees (at least in part...mental illness is the real cause).
Interestingly enough, the film was marketed, and in some instances still today, as a predictor of where we're headed. If the frenzies surrounding Casey Anthony, Virginia Tech and the Aurora shootings (which inspired other massacres that were fortunately foiled) are any indication, we're already there.
I'm of two minds of whether or not to recommend this movie. On the one hand, it's an important film that takes a hard but mandatory look at our culture and what we value. On the other, it's too long and occasionally overbearing. It may be that the director's cut is part of the problem, and the shorter, theatrical cut may be a more effective version. Initially, I gave it a 2.5/4, but I think for what it says, it's worth seeing.
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