Skip to content

Menu 1

  • Home
  • About
  • The Archives
  • EVERYBODY IS STILL A SUSPECT: A LOOK BACK AT SCREAM
  • Home Releases – New on BluRay, DVD, and Streaming
  • Twin Cities Live
  • Interviews with the Cast and Crew
PAUL'S TRIP TO THE MOVIES

Movie Review: TRUE STORY

By Paul McGuire Grimes
On April 17, 2015
In Movie Reviews
Tagged Ethan Suplee, Felicity Jones, Gretchen Mol, James Franco, Jonah Hill, Robert John Burke, Rupert Goold, true story

TRUE STORY
Director: Rupert Goold
Starring: James Franco, Jonah Hill, Felicity Jones, Ethan Suplee, Gretchen Mol, Robert John Burke

TrueStory1

One would think that if a movie has James Franco and Jonah Hill in it together, it could be box office gold. Somehow this movie is being released and I feel like no one has heard of it. Maybe it had a small budget with minimal spent on marketing or maybe the studio thought it would be a dud and didn’t want to waste it’s money. I’m going to go with the second. Jonah Hill plays Michael Finkel, a New York Times reporter who has been let go from the publication after it comes out that he slightly fabricated his most recent article. What he doesn’t know is that a man named Christian Longo (Franco) has been using his identity while on the run for murder. Michael only learns about this when a local reporter calls him asking for his opinion on Christian’s arrest. Christian has been accused of killing his wife and three kids and throwing their bodies off a bridge and into the bay. Michael visits Christian in jail where he learns that the accused is finally ready to tell his side of the story. Michael believes Christian’s case could be the story of a lifetime that could revitalize his career.

TrueStory2

I love a good true crime story. I think my overall intrigue with the genre kept me more invested than I should have been considering the lack of specificity and attention paid to this case. At one point James Franco’s character says, “Everybody deserves to have their story heard.” For anyone that has seen his or her fair share of crime-driven movies, you know this isn’t the most original line of dialogue. This is just one example of the overall amateur feel the film has for writer and director Rupert Goold. Yes, it’s his first film but I think he gets stuck without having a very clear viewpoint of what he wants out of his actors or audience. There is also an abundance of transition moments that are dialogue free. That wouldn’t be a bad choice, but a majority of them feel like filler used to expand the runtime instead of as used as a device to show the unspoken, the discoveries of our characters, or build tension.

TrueStory3

We have seen Franco and Hill turn in rich performances in the past that have garnered Oscar nominations for both of them. They have collaborated on other projects over the years (This is the End), and they may have seen this script as another attempt to work together but move away from the stoner comedies that have come before. Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t expecting them to turn this into a comedy or find humor in the situation. They aren’t given the material or direction that they both need in finding the specificity of each character. There is a surface level to their acting as I kept watching each one looking for the depth of an inner subtext. You know from the first meeting in the jail what Michael wants out of Christian and vice versa. I never understood their relationship as anything deeper than a supposed book deal for Michael or Christian wanting to learn how to be a better writer, nor did I feel like there was any question of Christian’s guilt or innocence.

TrueStory4

The only actor that brings any nuance and drive to their performance is Felicity Jones, fellow Oscar nominee due to her work in The Theory of Everything. She plays the standard supportive wife to Jonah Hill who still remains cautious as her husband visits a killer behind bars. This easily could have been a throwaway role, but unlike the gentlemen, I saw a depth behind her eyes. I felt for her character even though this isn’t her story.

 

TRUE STORY

During the closing credits I noticed that Dede Garner and Brad Pitt produced the film. Their production team also backed films like 12 Years a Slave and Selma. I wonder if Jonah Hill called his buddy Brad and asked for a favor to help get this film off the ground. I can understand the appeal to this story. I have not read Michael Finkel’s book of the same name, but the publisher description has more focus than this film while offering a probing look at the relationship between these two men. With some of the other true crime stories in the media lately like the podcast “Serial” and HBO’s “The Jinx”, I couldn’t get enough. I was sucked in with each episode and wanted more. I wanted to dive in and read additional material about each case. I didn’t have those feelings with True Story.

Is It Worth Your Trip to the Movies? You can find better true crimes stories on “Dateline”.

RATING: 2 out of 5 TICKET STUBS

2015-04-17
Previous Post: Movie Trailer: STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS (Star Wars Celebration)
Next Post: Movie Review: PAUL BLART: MALL COP 2

Follow Me on Social Media!

Twin Cities Live 4/0/21 – Movies to See Before the Oscars

https://youtu.be/oy-ApbRfoAg

Movie Reviews

Crisis - 3.5 Ticket Stubs, OnDemand
Thunder Force- 1 Ticket Stub, Netflix
Voyagers - 2 Ticket Stubs, In Theaters
Concrete Cowboy- 3.5 Ticket Stubs, Netflix
Godzilla vs. Kong - 3.5 Ticket Stubs, In Theaters, HBO Max
French Exit- 2.5 Ticket Stubs, In Theaters
Nobody - 3.5 Ticket Stubs, In Theaters
The Courier- 2 Ticket Stubs, In Theaters
Zack Snyder's Justice League - 4.5 Ticket Stubs, HBO Max
Yes Day- 3 Ticket Stubs, Netflix
The Father - 4 Ticket Stubs, In Theaters
Raya and the Last Dragon- 3.5 Ticket Stubs, In Theaters, Disney+ Premier Access
Coming 2 America - 3 Ticket Stubs, Amazon Prime
Boogie- 3 Ticket Stubs, In Theaters
Nomadland - 4.5 Ticket Stubs, In Theaters, Hulu
Minari- 4.5 Ticket Stubs, In Theaters
Judas and the Black Messiah - 4.5 Ticket Stubs, In Theaters

Streaming TV Reviews

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier - 3.5 Ticket Stubs, Disney+
WandaVision - 4 Ticket Stubs, Disney+
The Mandalorian Season 2 - 4.5 Ticket Stubs, Disney+
The Crown Season 4 - 4.5 Ticket Stubs, Netflix
The Haunting of Bly Manor - 4.5 Ticket Stubs, Netflix
The Last Dance - 5 Ticket Stubs, Netflix
Dead to Me Season 2 (2020) - 4 Ticket Stubs, Netflix

“ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI” Interviews (Amazon Prime)

https://youtu.be/e0pBWD6A1-Y

Tom Hanks Interview – “News of the World”

https://youtu.be/LjqC2fDG304

“Beautiful Boy” Q&A with Timothée Chalamet & Nic Sheff

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIPQIu04c9Q

Archives

  • Retrospectives
    • THE DC EXTENDED UNIVERSE
    • MARVEL CINEMATIC UNIVERSE
      • Marvel Cinematic Universe – Phase Four
      • Marvel Cinematic Universe-Phase Three
      • Marvel Cinematic Universe-Phase Two
      • Marvel Cinematic Universe-Phase One
      • X-MEN
    • Stand By Me (1986)
    • The Bond, James Bond Challenge
    • “HALLOWEEN” RETROSPECTIVE
    • EVERYBODY IS STILL A SUSPECT: A LOOK BACK AT SCREAM
  • Interviews with the Cast and Crew
  • Home Releases – New on BluRay, DVD, and Streaming
  • The Archives

Designed using Chromatic. Powered by WordPress.