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I’m usually up to speed on my movie background before going to see a movie, but I’ve managed to keep myself in the dark about the new drama True Story. I didn’t realize going in that the movie was based on a book by the same name about actual events involving the author and the subject of the book. I’m not sure knowing any of that would have made things any clearer.
The story begins with reporter Michael Finkel who is a lauded writer for the New York Times. Unfortunately, his latest cover story is riddled with factual errors – not that any of them were downright lies, but facts were juggled and compressed to tell a comprehensive story – and he is unceremoniously let go, making his future in the press less than sunny.
Then we meet a man who calls himself Michael Finkel, reporter for the New York Times. Turns out the guy is wanted for the murder of his family, and his real name is Christian Longo, an admirer of Finkel’s writing. After Longo’s capture, Finkel is contacted with the news and he decides to pay Longo a visit in prison to find out why he used his name. The two begin to play a sort of cat and mouse game with Finkel seeing a potential book coming out of the relationship, and all Longo wants is to learn how to write in exchange for telling his story. But the question is, can Finkel believe anything Longo tells him and will anyone believe Finkel’s accounts of the story.
There was something very … off about the film and the performances. tweet
Frankly, I didn’t know what was going on. There was something very … off about the film and the performances. The casting didn’t do the movie any favors. We’re used to seeing Jonah Hill and James Franco making absurd comedies together, and while each of them has done some fine dramatic work separately, they came off as two buddies play-acting at being dramatic. I really expected Franco to bust out laughing at some point and let us all in on the joke.
The structure of the film, too, kept making me wait for some other shoe to drop. It really seemed like they were going to throw some curve ball at us that Longo was imaginary, like Tyler Durden in Fight Club, and for much of the film I kept watching to see if the two men were ever in the same room together with other people. Of course they were, and when I saw this was based on a true story it became even more frustrating because I was just waiting for something to happen to conclusively tell us if Longo really did or did not kill his family (we do learn the truth in some on-screen text at the end, at least we have to assume it’s the truth.)
By the time the credits roll, you’re going to feel like you’ve been had. The characters manipulate each other just as much as the film manipulates the audience into thinking something big is going to happen. It never does. It ultimately wastes a lot of talent, including Felicity Jones and Gretchen Mol, and 100 minutes of your time.
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