Was really enjoying this the whole time as a political thriller but was also thinking “this is great but no way this really happened” and then I looked it up after and this is pretty much exactly what happened. So that sucks
Pretty amazing how focused and well-paced this is considering there’s not really a protagonist. Also one of the most satisfying climaxes ever immediately followed by one of the most devastating epilogues ever
Pretty strange combination of plotlessness, some comedic relief, and really intense and graphic portrayals of civil war and crimes against humanity, but I think it mostly works. Richard Boyle is a pretty interesting character (and like the worst guy ever) and I appreciated the ending a lot.
The scenes in the American embassy with the most cartoonishly WASPy guy ever and an equally cartoonish stern mustached general really epitomize Oliver Stone for me; a little broad-brushed and loose with exact facts, but uniquely (for a Hollywood filmmaker) and rightly aggressive against the evils of the American government
I’ve always been fascinated with abnormal psychology and this is the best look into that that I’ve seen in a movie. I feel like I understand serial killers and mental illness much better than I did before. This is a new reference point for me for the nature vs. nurture debate and for discussions of determinism when it comes to personality.
Wish they had gotten more into the race stuff and it’s too bad the sisters declined to be interviewed, but otherwise it’s a very entertaining, disturbing, and insightful look into the psyches of the Crumbs (as well as their art and audience)
