True Story (2015)

Hill plays a journalist interviewing a murderer during his trial played by Franco. Vague exchanges take place while the two main characters apparently become friends. At some point the movie ends, without a point and without any real story or a hint of subplot.Apart from it not having a story to tell, The films sports a most terrible script uttered by totally uninteresting characters in scenes that are systemically too long. None of the characters are believable, ruining the film's main plot point. Especially Hill's character makes zero sense. You can't be an investigative reporter and then be that naive. A friendship emerging from such shallow, boring and fake conversations, is also not credible. And what was the character of the wife even doing in this movie? She seemed to be his sister at first. Recommended viewing speed: 4X

I have wanted to see this film for a while and I have finally had the chance to see it and I thought it was great. The premise of the film sees a disgraced journalist get in touch with a criminal using his name to understand him. Jonah hill is a great comedic actor but he puts on a fantastic dramatic performance in this film. I saw a completely different side to him in this film as this damaged guy truly owns the screen in this whole film. James franco plays the criminal in this film and he does a great job in this film. He plays a twisted character and you never really know where he is coming from because he is such a deep conflicted character. Felicity jones plays hills wife in the film and she does a good job in this film with some powerful scenes. Everybody else in the film does a good job helping make this feel like a real situation. The story of the situation between hill and franco is really interesting and it builds into an uncomfortable situation. The script has some great drama that builds between these two characters to high levels. But I do feel like this film could have maybe done with a bit more humour to lighten the mood at times. The style of the film is very intense and it keeps you engaged. However, the pacing of the film is pretty slow especially for the first half an hour that slows the film down. I think this is a great intense film that if you like dramas you should see.

***MAJOR SPOILERS*** Movie about the true story behind the notorious Christian Longo, James Franco, quadruple murder case in Portland Oregon that ex-New Times investigative reporter Michael Finkel, Jonah Hill,got deeply involved in. Finkel out of work after being canned from the New York Times for making up facts about a Times Magazine cover story about hunger in Africa is now out of work and living in Montana with his wife Jill, Felicity Jones. That's until he gets a call from a reporter from the newspaper "The Oragonian" about this accused murderer Christian Longo who was arrested in Mexico using his name as a cover.This leads Finkel to contact the local Portland D.A to arranger a meeting with Longo in prison and see what's the story about him using his name and, if he doesn't have enough problems already, connecting him with the murderers that he-Longo-is accused of. It turns out that Longo has followed Finkel's career and is very excited about his writing style and wants him to help him get out of jail by telling him the true story about his wife and three children murders; Which of course as Longo hints-with a number of red herrings-he had nothing, with the exception of his wife, at all to do with. Longo's story about his innocence seems to make sense with Finkel now getting a number of offers from book publishing firms to write it. In that only he's the one that Longo is willing to tell it to.****SPOILERS****Finkel soon realizes that there's something missing in Longo's story about his being innocent of his family's murders but by then he's in too deep and can't seem to get himself out. After getting burned in his BS story about starving African youths this story if found to be fake will just about destroy any hope he has to even get a job as a professional writer again. It's Jill who figured out what Longo was all about and after meeting him in prison compared him to a 17 century writer who like himself also murdered his entire family after catching his wife cheating on him! Which in Longo's case was a lot worse in the reason that he's accused in murdering his entire family was only due to financial problems. Finkel does in the end salvage his writing career in his book about Longo's crimes and how he was fooled by him but has to live the rest of his life in knowing what a shill he was in supporting Longo up until the very end when the true story of his crimes came to the surface. And as we see at the very end of the film Longo will always be with him to remind Finkel what a total jerk he was in believing him.

I don't enjoy taking time out to write a review of a film that I find thoroughly without merit. But here goes. This film is about a horrific crime. A husband and father murders his wife and three children, gets caught, and attempts to place the blame on his murdered wife. He flees to Mexico where he tries to pass himself off as NY Times reporter/writer, and easily impressed sycophant, Mike Finkle. This film deals with their relationship. As one character (a relative of the murdered wife) puts it to Mr. Finkle during a trial recess, "you could have written a story about anyone and you chose him". She's right. And so this film, like the book it's based on, and the real life relationship between the cold blooded killer and the "hero" worshiping writer, falls into the narcissistic formula of being about the observers rather than the crime or it's victims. It is sickening. The screen writers inject redemptive moments into the story line which does nothing to change the fact that this film has the wrong perspective and is about all the wrong people. And instead of having a ring of truth in them they simply come off as a unnecessary confection, and an utterly distasteful device, in order to sell this bad film. I didn't buy it for a second. I really hate movies like this. It, like the book it's based on, is a vulture picking over the bones of four innocent murder victims for profit.