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About The Clackamas print. (Oregon City, Oregon) 1989-2019 | View Entire Issue (April 22, 2015)
8 CLACKAMAS PRINT • APRIL 2 2,2 01 5 Comedy stars go seriously dark Jonah Hill and James Franco star in new film True Story by Blake Thomason One of Oregon’s infamous murderers has h it the big screen. British director Rupert Goold took the, well, true story of Christian Lon- go’s murders and created an emotion al, com pelling movie. Using Michael Finkel’s book by the same title, Goold retold the fascinating story o f Longo and Finkel’s unlikely relationship. In 2 00 2, Finke, was fired from The New York Times fo r em bellishing a story on slavery in Africa. At the same tim e, Longo was hiding o ut in Mexi co using Finkel’s identity. Shortly after Longo was captured by th e FBI fo r murdering his wife and three children, an Oregonian rep orte r called Finkel asking w hy Longo would use his iden tity. Realizing the unique connection he had w ith Longo, Finkel saw an oppor tu nity fo r redem ption - an exclusive, inside scoop on Longo’s story. Played by Jonah Hill, Finkel gets tangled up in a w eb o f lies trying to understand Longo, played by James Franco. Despite th e ir strong perfor mances and obvious talent, th e duo seemed odd choices fo r such a dark film. Each have played roles in serious m ovies before, b u t th e pairing lead to an alm ost humorous tension, leav ing th e audience e ith e r w a itin g fo r a punchline or unable to take th em seriously. Felicity Jones played Finkel’s g irl frie n d , Jill Barker, and w as q u ie t th ro u g h o u t m ost o f th e m ovie save one pow erful confrontation w ith Lon go - w hich actually never happened in real life. Finkel to ld The New York Times in an article published recently th a t some o f th e face-to-face m eet ings, in th e film , w ere actually over the phone or through letters, but he understands th a t a movie is a “visual medium” and th at the “emotional con te n t was accurate.” “True Story" has caused some con troversy am ong th ose close to th e story, as w ell as Oregonians w ho re member the events of 2001. Not only does the movie give more attention to Longo, it also portrays him in a way w here viewers feel som ewhat bad fo r him until the very end. Penny Dupuie, sister o f Longo’s w ife Mary Jane, to ld Fox 12 in a re cent article th a t she’s “disgusted the film was made.” Previously in 2011, D upuie to ld th e Oregonian Longo was a “monster” who w ouldn’t let the family heal, appearing on magazines and th e news. Lt. Ed Stallard, w ho worked on the Longo case, also told Fox 12 it’s “hard fo r him to watch as the nation once again focuses on the killer.” Finkel himself said in the New York Times article it “brought back very uncomfortable flashbacks” and was a “w eirdly traum atic experience.” As far as acting and cinem atogra phy goes, th e m ovie was very w ell done. Hill, Franco and Jones do an outstanding jo b in th e ir roles, p ut ting faces on people whose private stories were not seen by those w ho followed the actual story through the news. Goold did an excellent jo b of using subtlety to convey messages and character’s feelings rather than state th e m o utrig h t, w hich a dded to the compelling nature o f the film. However, the story was told in such a way th a t created sympathy fo r tw o characters w ho deserved none. After being fired fo r dishonest reporting, Finkel preoccupied himself w ith Lon go to a near relationship-ending level. Yet the movie portrayed him as the guy who people root for in his second chance. Longo com m itted a heinous crime and was portrayed as misun derstood and possibly innocent fo r a m ajority of the film. Overall, the movie was about three o u t o f five stars and w o rth seeing, particularly fo r those w ho were not very close to the real events. “True Story” h it theaters Friday, on April 17. Regency Enterprises <4 ★★★☆☆ W ashington S tate U niversity fc k Choose from a variety of courses and three session start dates— M a y 11, June 8 a n d June 22. VANCOUVER 3- 6-, 8- & 12- c APPLY TO WSU VANCOUVER FOR SUMM ER CLASSES. 0 m - r a m Take the class you need to get on track or graduate early. FiND FOCUS. Small class sizes can help boost your GPA. SAVE HONEY In-state tuition rate— fo r all! 360-546-W SUV • vancouver.w su.edu/sum m er
