NATURAL BORN KILLERS
A film review by Jeffrey Graebner
Copyright 1994 Jeffrey Graebner
No matter what you think of the content of his films, it is hard to deny Oliver Stone is one of the most innovative mainstream filmmakers in Hollywood. Few directors are as consistently willing to take major chances. With NATURAL BORN KILLERS, he has created a film that is unlike any other movie ever made. Some people are going to absolutely love the film and others are going to absolutely hate it. Far more are going to be left exhausted, bewildered, and generally undecided about whether or not it worked. I fit into the latter category.
The first half of this mostly plotless film is a warped road picture as we follow mass-murderers Mickey and Mallory Knox (played by Woody Harrelson and Juliette Lewis) as they go on a rampage committing one violent murder after another. About half-way through, Mickey and Mallory are captured at which point this turns into a bizarre prison film. Much of the action in the last half revolves around a unscrupulous reporter (played by Robert Downey Jr.) who will do pretty much anything for a prison interview with Mickey, a borderline crazy prison warden (played by Tommy Lee Jones), and the corrupt police detective (played by Tom Sizemore) who captured Mickey and Mallory.
All of these characters are written and played so completely over the top that they are essentially live-action cartoons. Very little effort is expended trying to develop any motivation for the behavior of the characters. Other than a couple very brief flashes of childhood memory, nothing is told about Mickey's background. An early flashback sequence does give us a little background into Mallory's childhood, but it is one of the most bizarre movie sequences in recent memory. The whole thing is shot like a TV sitcom (including a laugh track) with her abusive father played by Rodney Dangerfield and her weak mother played by Edie McClurg. Dangerfield and McClurg play the characters like typical sitcom parents, except for Dangerfield's occasional tendency to verbally, physically, and sexually abuse his daughter.
The whole movie is so intensely stylized and throws so many cinematic tricks at us that this flashback sequence doesn't even seem particularly out of place. In fact, I'm not sure that much of *anything* could seem out of place in this movie. The audio/visual style of this movie is virtually impossible to describe. It basically has to be seen to be believed. Stone uses virtually every conceivable type of film stock and photography, even throwing in bits of animation on occasion. Scenes constantly switch from color to black and white and from 8mm to 16mm to 35mm. The viewer is rarely given the opportunity to begin to digest an image before something completely different is up on the screen. The overall result is a sensation of constant chaos, but it is also virtually impossible to take your eyes off the screen. It is simultaneously exhausting and exhilarating.
It all may seem virtually random on first glance, but in truth I suspect that every frame of this film is carefully crafted and deliberate. This is definitely a film that primarily came together in the editing room. The whole movie is full of rapid cuts and all kinds of abstract imagery. Special effects are often used to combine seemingly unrelated images on the screen all at once. Oliver Stone has never been known for subtlety and much of the symbolism here is extremely obvious. In particular, the frequent use of snakes is rather unsubtle. Still, this film is a major achievement in cinema editing and if this film fails to win the "Best Editing" Oscar, then the Academy simply isn't paying attention.
The actors all seem to be given little restraints on their performances. Harrelson, Lewis, and Jones are essentially playing their standard screen personas here, but in a highly exaggerated manner. Harrelson plays Mickey as if Woody from "Cheers" finally snapped and became violent. This is the dark side of the simple-minded hick that he has been playing for years. Lewis plays another of her sweet-looking oddballs. She is petite and soft-spoken, making it all the more shocking when she suddenly becomes violent. Finally, Tommy Lee Jones has seemed to constantly be on the verge of going out-of-control in his last few roles. This time, he is finally allowed to cross that line. As you might expect, he is a lot of fun to watch.
Robert Downey Jr. gives the most entertaining performance in the film as the reporter. His character is the most fully formed in the film and is generally the only one that changes much in the film (although not necessarily for the better). Most importantly, he is given most of the best lines in the film which he delivers with a great deal of finesse. On top of all that, he plays the character with a very convincing Australian accent (although I never was quite sure *why*).
One significant way in which this movie differs from Stone's past work is the fact that it is primarily done as satire. The film actually is very funny, although much of the laughter is nervous laughter. Sometimes you may even feel slightly guilty about what you are laughing at. The script contains quite a bit of witty dialog, most of which is given to Robert Downey Jr.
Much has been made about the amount of violence in this film. It certainly *is* an incredibly violent film and is very much deserving of its R rating. Much of the violence is really more implied than explicit, though, and the rapid editing means that the violent acts (and their results) are never really on the screen long. I suspect that a lot of people will come away from this film thinking that it was a lot more graphic than it really is. Still, this is probably not a movie for the extremely squeamish.
The one big question that may remain with many viewers after seeing this movie is what the film is really trying to say. While the two films couldn't be more different in content, I suspect that the reactions to this film may be similar to some of the reactions people have had to FORREST GUMP. Like that film, NATURAL BORN KILLERS has a relatively simple and obvious message on the surface. This basic message is about the fact that the media tends to glorify violence and make celebrities out of criminals. Unfortunately, the film really has little of substance to say on this matter. As a result, many may find the movie to be shallow. On the other hand, some people may read meanings into the film that other people simply don't see. I suspect that many people will be left with feelings that are so abstract that they are virtually impossible to articulate. I'm left with the strong feeling that there is a lot more to this movie than meets the eye, but I really don't know how I can sufficiently explain that fact to someone else (particularly if they don't see it themselves).
NATURAL BORN KILLERS is one of the most audacious and original films to come along in a long time. It is a two-hour assault on the senses which will likely leave audiences simultaneously dazzled and confused. It is an impressive film that is likely going to generate a ton of varied reactions and debate.
-- Jeffrey P. Graebner Columbus, Ohio
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