Natural Born Killers

1994

Director: Oliver Stone

Writer: Quentin Tarantino

Stars: Woody Harrelson, Juliette Lewis, Robert Downey Jr., Tommy Lee Jones, Tom Sizemore

IMBb rating: **********

My rating: *****

IMBd storyline:

“The misadventures of Mickey (Harrelson) and Mallory (Lewis): outcasts, lovers, and serial killers. They travel across Route 666 conducting psychedelic mass-slaughters not for money, not for revenge, just for kicks. Glorified by the media, the pair become legendary folk heroes; their story told by the single person they leave alive at the scene of each of their slaughters.”

Director Oliver Stone said that the film is a satire on how serial killers are adored by the media for their horrific actions. I completely agree, but like the audience of the television, find myself glorifying and adoring them. During Wayne Gales (Downey) interview with Mickey, I scarily find myself agreeing with most of the things he is saying about murder. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not going to go around murdering people and I do not condone murder, but being a vegetarian, I get what he is saying. I fight this fight every time someone someone questions my vegetarianism. I don’t want to give too much away but, in a strange way, he makes murdering sound reasonable.

Wayne Gale, portrayed by Robert Downey Jr. with a dodgy Australian accent, is a news reporter and TV personality. He makes a crime show that glorifies Mickey and Mallory and shoots them into fame. During his interview with Mickey he gets angry, shouting at him, telling him his views on murder are wrong and he is sick. But later the same day, after his interview with Mickey is terminated, Gale begins showing symptoms of Stockholm Syndrome. I don’t want to give too much away as I want you all to watch this movie (apart from Katherine).

Scagnetti (Sizemore) a corrupted police detective, obsessed with imprisoning Mickey and Mallory. And McClusky (Jones) also corrupt, a vicious warden at the prison Mickey and Mallory are held. These two work together to try and kill Mickey and Mallory before they can be properly sanctioned. These two perfectly portrayal the bizarre things people will do for fame. Jones in a role much unlike anything he has ever done before, his brilliant acting carries the film to its glorious end.

One thing that caught my attention was the fact that the camera never angles on a straight, horizontal level throughout the whole film. This gives the feeling of disorientation and that things aren’t “right”, and I definitely felt this throughout the film.

Also the colour green shows up several times during the film and is used to indicate the sickness in Mickey’s mind. Also, the use of TV commercials was an attempt to show the comforting power some commercials have. Every commercial comes after a horrific moment or a flash cut of a demon, such as the Coca Cola Polar Bear commercial.

But the most striking an horrifying scene which I could not shake was one which involved Mallory and her family. In the style of a 1950’s sitcom, it is revealed that Mallory’s father molests her as he does it on screen with audience laughter following. This style makes the entire subject dark, disgusting and just completely vile, it almost made me look away.

Every thing in this film makes it so amazing, the only thing that annoyed me was the camera angles, they made me feel a bit woozy. This film is breathtaking and heartbreaking, two star-crossed lovers find each other in the twisted worlds they grew up in and find their own peace in this trigger-happy thriller.