True Story (2015)

Genre


Director


Country


Cast

Jonah Hill, James Franco, Felicity Jones, Connor Kikot, Gretchen Mol, Betty Gilpin, John Sharian, Robert Stanton, Maria Dizzia, Genevieve Angelson, Dana Eskelson, Joel Garland, Rebecca Henderson, Charlotte Driscoll

Storyline

When disgraced New York Times reporter Michael Finkel (Jonah Hill) meets accused killer Christian Longo (James Franco), who has taken on Finkel's identity, Mike's investigation morphs into an unforgettable game of cat-and-mouse.

Opinion

Jonah Hill and James Franco working together in a film that is not a comedy was against the odds, but happened, and the result, regardless of what critics said, is pretty good.

Beautifully shot, True Story is a slow, yet intriguing thriller, filled with twists and excellent performances.

For being his theatrical directorial debut, Rupert Goold did a quite good job. The film is well paced, and even though it feels like a feature-length episode of Law & Order and has its ups and downs, keeps the viewer interested.

The hardest part to review is the writing. When it comes to films based on real events, it's harder to say what has been done wrong, and could have been done better, or what has been done in a good way, due the fact that they story doesn't come from somebody's imagination, but is the outcome of someone's actions. Having said so, I think Goold and David Kajganich did a pretty good job with the script.

The film superficially examines the issue of journalistic integrity, but, through two different yet similar men - they are both frauds who have more in common with each other than it would seem -, shows how emotions can distort reasoning and blur the truth.

I'm not crazy about Jonah Hill but he does a great job portraying the journalist looking for his lifetime scoop. James Franco is just wonderful as the murdered. I was expecting the two of them pulling off a joke sooner or later, but I'm glad they didn't. Felicity Jones also gives a solid performance, her American accents is good, and that's a great scene the one with Franco.


Quotes

Christian Longo: Sometimes the truth isn't believable. But that doesn't mean that it's not true.

Christian Longo: Sometimes you have to accept looking one way in order to protect something more important.

1 comment :

  1. I don't mind Jonah Hill, but I haven't seen him in so many movies. The combo of him and James Franco is an interesting one, but it seems like this makes an okay movie. I can understand how true stories in terms of writing, are harder to comment on.

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