Go

Kalifornia

Year: 1993
Production Co: Polygram Filmed Entertainment
Director: Dominic Sena
Writer: Steven Levy/Tim Metcalfe
Cast: Brad Pitt, Juliette Lewis, David Duchovny, Michelle Forbes

It's strange how this movie isn't a bigger cult hit that it is. It has all the trappings of one - big names in early roles, a gritty, almost documentary aesthetic, cheap, guerilla-style production and a strong subtext about the state of society in America. Maybe the pedestal isn't big enough for two movies, and Natural Born Killers hogs it for itself.

Then-TV-megastar-in-waiting David Duchovny is journalist Brian, his girlfriend Carrie (Michelle Forbes - Ensign Ro from Star Trek: The Next Generation) a photographer. They decide to embark on a road trip across America and write a book about famous serial killers by visiting the sites of the most gruesome murders.

Playing a police file recording of a murder being carried out while he takes notes and Carrie takes photos, you'll start to worry about Brian's sanity, but his dark side pales beside that of trailer trash Earley (Pitt) and his childlike girlfriend Adele (Lewis). Brian and Carrie take their pair along on their trip to help them foot the bills, unaware that Earley's a killer himself and they're about to see their subject from far too close.

Earley's malevolent wits slowly show through his dumb redneck exterior and before they realise it, Brian and Carrie are fighting for their lives as Earley wants them to understand killing all too intimately.

Every cast member shows a level of sombre dedication to their roles, and director Dominic Sena graduated from music videos to helm this film then disappeared for almost a decade before showing up again on the megaphone for the Jerry Bruckheimer Swordfish.

© 2011-2023 Filmism.net. Site design and programming by psipublishinganddesign.com | adambraimbridge.com | humaan.com.au