Review of Kalifornia (1993) by Angie M — 26 Aug 2008

Kalifornia is a road trip gone terribly wrong. The movie completely relies on its four main characters, and has little in terms of an actual storyline. However, where the movie really gets interesting is with the crazy duo of Early and Adele. Watching those two is like watching a train wreck -- there is something sickeningly entertaining about their individual unhinged personalities.

Brad Pitt does a mindblowingly excellent job as the trigger-happy psycho. Despite his ragged appearance and his love affair with violence, there is something undeniably charming about him. Like that scene where he exposes his socks at the dinner table, one got the feeling he didn't do it out of spite but he genuinely had no knowledge of social etiquette. With a lesser actor and someone with less charisma, Early would have been quite a one-dimension villain. Juliette Lewis really excels in making Adele as stupid as stupid could possibly be. But despite her occasional irritating cluelessness, her naivete probably makes her the most sympathetic character of all. Particularly, because she seems to fit the profiles of women who have experienced abuse and abusive relationships. David Duchovny and Michelle Forbes suit their parts as the high-brow "intellectual" types. It was funny to see traces of Mulder in Brian, and of course, Duchovny does go on to star in The X-Files that year.

Despite its scene-by-scene type plotline, the movie was engrossing from start to finish. The culture clash between the yuppies and the white trash, the rather comedic way Early goes on his violent sprees, the gradual manner in which Brian's and Carrie's pretentiousness crumble and they are reduced to a baser, primeval urge to survive -- there is never a boring moment in the film.