Natural Born Killers (1994)

                     

A frenetic, bloody look at mass murder and the mass media, director Oliver Stone's extremely controversial film divided critics and audiences with its mixture of over-the-top violence and bitter cultural satire. At the center of the film, written by Stone and Quentin Tarantino, among others, are Mickey (Woody Harrelson) and Mallory (Juliette Lewis), a young couple united by their desire for each other and their common love of violence. Together, they embark on a record-breaking, exceptionally gory killing spree that captivates the sensation-hungry tabloid media. Their fame is ensured by one newsman, Wayne Gale (Robert Downey, Jr.), who reports on Mickey and Mallory for his show, American Maniacs. Even the duo's eventual capture by the police only increases their notoriety, as Gale develops a plan for a Super Bowl Sunday interview that Mickey and Mallory twist to their own advantage. Visually overwhelming, Robert Richardson's hyperkinetic cinematography switches between documentary-style black-and-white, surveillance video, garishly colored psychedelia, and even animation in a rapid-fire fashion that mirrors the psychosis of the killers and the media-saturated culture that makes them popular heroes. The film's extreme violence -- numerous edits were required to win an R rating -- became a subject of debate, as some critics asserted that the film irresponsibly glorified its murderers and blamed the filmmakers for potentially inciting copy-cat killings. Defenders argued that the film attacks media obsession with violence and satirizes a sensationalistic, celebrity-obsessed society. Certain to provoke discussion, Natural Born Killers will thoroughly alienate many viewers with its shock tactics, chaotic approach, and disturbing subject matter, while others will value the combination of technical virtuosity and dark commentary on the modern American landscape.

Note # Click watch as free user NOT THE WATCH NOW button, and the video will play in a few moments.

                    

Review By Robert Firsching

Natural Born Killers is a vicious, gory, disgusted kick in the pants to America, as Oliver Stone seemingly throws the culture's sickness back in its face, screaming "You like this kind of stuff? Here!" In a country which made Bonnie and Clyde heroes and slobbered over bloody gloves and horrifying 911 calls for over a year, how do you make this kind of satire crazy enough? Stone tries to do so by taking every facet of the crime/glamor obsession to its extremes. Mallory (Juliette Lewis) and her psycho sweetheart Mickey (Woody Harrelson) commit over 50 murders and become big stars, with Stone tracing every step of the mad journey to celebrity in a multitude of styles including color, black-and-white, hand-held Super 8, and even cartoons. At one point, he presents Mallory's obligatory "unhappy childhood" as a demented sitcom, with sexually abusive dad Rodney Dangerfield spouting abuse to big laughs from a delighted audience. It's all just fodder for the media machine and the bloodthirsty public, as Robert Downey, Jr. illustrates as a camera-obsessed reporter whose quest for fame has blinded him to the perversion of what he is doing.