Review of Natural Born Killers (1994) by Cle S — 15 Mar 2014
Morally repugnant. Oliver Stone has never been known for subtlety but in "Natural Born Killers," his supposed satire on our culture's and media's obsession with criminals, he bludgeons the audience with a sledgehammer to drive his points home.
Stone uses every technical trick, filming in color and black and white, including rear projection, slow motion, fast motion, animation, varied film stocks, parodies of sitcoms and tabloid newsmagazine shows, as we follow the murder spree committed by lovers Mickey (Woody Harrelson) and Mallory (Juliette Lewis).
The visual-aural style is sensory overload that distracts us. Stone doesn't recoil from the horrific violence. The victims are presented as grotesque caricatures and we're supposed to cheer on and laugh at the murders.
There is no attempt at wit or variety. Repetitious to the extreme without any emotion. Story by Quentin Tarantino (who was unhappy with Stone's version) with script credit by Stone, Dave Veloz, Richard Rutowski.
With Tom Sizemore, Robert Downey Jr., Rodney Dangerfield, Tommy Lee Jones, Steven Wright, Marshall Bell.
This review of Natural Born Killers (1994) was written by Cle S on 15 Mar 2014.
Natural Born Killers has generally received positive reviews.
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