Filipe Manuel Neto
Nov 17, 2023
6/10
A brutal criticism of our society, in which the film itself takes advantage of what it is criticizing.
Oliver Stone is not one of my favorite directors. What happens when he teams up with Quentin Tarantino? This. The script written by Tarantino is an authentic carnage that massacred not only a random number of extras but also popular culture.
Ever since the mass media appeared, alarmist and high-sounding voices have occasionally emerged to warn of the enormous dangers they pose. Over the decades, criticism has echoed around the appreciation for what is violent or has sexual connotations. I agree with some, if not most, of the criticisms, although I cannot accept people being considered stupid enough to start carrying out massacres or sexual orgies just because of what they see on certain TV shows. The vast majority of people do not allow themselves to be influenced in this way, and those who allow this already have, a priori, an imperative need for psychological support.
The film starts from this premise to create a bizarre story in which a terrible couple of killers, bloodthirsty and sadistic to an extreme point, end up being transformed into authentic “pop” superstars, with legions of fans, interviews and a public frenzy around them. their violent acts, and the heartless hunt that the police carry out against them. I appreciate the satirical tones given to the film, which shows a society where everything that in a normal world only deserves to be execrated is worshiped. However, by taking this path, it is part of the “problem” and is so extremely violent that it bothers any human being with a minimum of compassion.
Everything in this film has Tarantino's touch, implicit in a latent hysteria present in almost everything: the direction is raw, rude, the soundtrack is intrusive, and the editing uses brutal, fast cuts and scenes that an epileptic would not be able to handle, including sudden cuts of black-and-white films, TV news and other materials. The visual effects are of excellent quality, but eye-catching. The fast-paced action transforms the film into a race through a world of extreme violence, histrionic and unpleasant characters, and incessant noise. The dialogue is written to be shouted rather than spoken, and the heavy use of swear words may make some people's ears ring.
There is a very strong cast in this film that deserves to be highlighted for the superb work it gives to the audience. Woody Harrelson is convincing and appropriately sadistic in his role, which is one of the most brutal and impactful of his career to date, and Juliette Lewis, despite not being particularly “sexy” as required by the character, is believable, intelligent and pleasantly naughty. Robert Downey Jr., who was still far from the stardom he achieved in recent years, is truly devastating in the final part of the film and Tommy Lee Jones, an always competent veteran, is suitably crazy, as if he no longer has a sense of reality and had no fear of abusing the powers with which he was invested. Tom Sizemore ends up being the most restrained actor among those that the script most favored.
