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 ★★★☆☆
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