The Panther Newspaper: ‘True Story’ is filled with lies
When I first read the plot for “True Story,” I was instantly intrigued. New York Times reporter Michael Finkel (Jonah Hill) is discredited and fired after fabricating an article. Afterward, no one will hire him and he almost loses hope when he makes a discovery that changes his life forever: a man named Christian Longo (James Franco) was arrested for the murder of his wife and three children. But what does this have to do with Finkel? His character asks the same question and finds out that when the accused killer was arrested, he told police that he was Finkel.
As I read more about this dark and dramatic film, I finally noticed who was on the cast list. Jonah Hill and James Franco are known for their comedic collaborations with other actors such as Seth Rogan, so I was curious to see their performances as they take on more serious roles.
The opening scene literally made my jaw drop and may have been the best hook I’ve ever seen. A teddy bear is tossed into a suitcase and slowly reveals the contents of the luggage—a little girl curled up into a ball. The suitcase is zipped shut and the audience follows its journey to the bottom of a coastal bay, eventually ending up in the hands of a coroner.
From there, we see the downfall of two completely different men whose paths connect because of Longo’s creepy fixation on Finkel’s writing. Although their motivation to form a bond is largely selfish on both their ends, the men soon come to find that they need each other — Longo wants his story to be told and Finkel needs the exclusive story to revive his career. Finkel quickly learns that Longo is prone to lying, which hinders but doesn’t stop his pursuit of the truth.
Hill and Franco have amazing chemistry and it was refreshing to see them break away from playing their typical, goofy characters. But just because it was a humorless movie didn’t mean that it had to be boring. It’s hard to keep the audience interested when a good portion of the movie is shot in a prison visitation room where the two men would meet to discuss Longo’s complicated life story. As they sat across from each other in a completely white room, which seemed to happen in every other scene, I realized that a majority of the movie was just two men talking to each other. Honestly, I’m not sure why Hill and Franco were cast for this movie. There are plenty of other actors who could have portrayed these characters just as well, if not better, and audiences would be able to take the film more seriously.
One moment that stuck with me was after the first day of Longo’s trial when Finkel approaches two women who are obviously distraught by the case — I think it was Longo's wife’s sister and her friend — and one of them shames him for writing Longo’s story, out of all the stories he could have picked. This moment actually made me feel ashamed for seeing the film because I realized that I was satisfying Longo’s need for attention by listening to his story. Oh, how proud Longo must be that even more people will remember his name.
Even so, it was a remarkable and deeply disturbing story about manipulation and uncovering the truth that left a powerful message: lying will only hurt you in the end.
3/5 Panther paws.
Photo courtesy New Regency Pictures.
