Review of Kalifornia (1993) by Kenneth L — 17 Sep 2010

This is an extraordinary, harsh, brutal movie. It's almost like an updated, miniature adaptation of Blood Meridian. It also has an astounding performance by Brad Pitt, maybe the best one I've ever seen him give.

He really is one hell of an actor. The story is about a couple of upper-middle-class intellectuals (played by David Duchovny and Michelle Forbes) who end up by chance sharing a ride to California with a white-trash couple (played by Pitt and Juliette Lewis).

They initially fail to realize, however, that the Pitt character is a violent psychopath who kills people, well, just because. Pitt makes his character into a terrifying, remorseless animal. Juliette Lewis also gives a truly excellent performance as his slavish, child-like girlfriend - the scene where she reveals some of her past to the Forbes character is deeply moving and sad.

The movie is unapologetically violent, but that's the point. It's a shame this movie has been swept under the rug the way it has - nobody knows about this movie, and the director Dominic Sena has only made a couple of movies since, none nearly as good as this one.

I really think Pitt and Lewis should have gotten Oscar nominations for this movie, but apparently no one saw it when it came out. If you're interested in good acting and can handle the extreme violence, you really should watch this one.