Review of Let Me Make You a Martyr (2016) by Pablo G — 25 Nov 2017

This film over plays it's hand. While the acting is superb, the dialogue is very deliberate, and the asymmetrical story telling captivates you at first; by the end of the first act you find yourself asking "Is every scene just going to be an artistic excuse for one masturbatory monologue after another" and the answer is yes. The film feels like a Tarantino story in a Rob Zombie scenario. Every meth-raddled white trash-hodunk character in this film has the lexicon and poetic cadence of Christoph Waltz. And while the artistic drive of this film is enough to hook you in at the beginning, it requires a very unique suspension of disbelief to sit through scene after scene of self-aggrandizing god complexes.

The plot is very deconstructed from the beginning and requires undivided attention to really appreciate, though it pays off if you are willing to work for it. Choosing to combine the broken linear structures of both flash backs and time jumps, the film can be quite jarring.

The cinematography in this film stands as one of it's strengths. The warm color splashes with hand held close ups really conveys the intimacy that this film represents.

Without question, this film's main focus is it's cast. While the film is advertised as a Marilyn Manson film, he is actually in very little of the film. Though his scenes are very intense and well done. Really, the film is carried by Niko Nicotera and Sam Quartin as the protagonists and Mark Boone Jr. as the main antagonist. Each scene with any of those 4 actors plays almost as a demo reel for future work.