I picked up Natural Born Killers because in theory it is written by Quentin Tarantino. However, I think that little remains of Tarantino's original ideas, and NBK is every inch Oliver Stone's baby. I once read that Tarantino's script was broken into True Romance and Natural Born Killers, but as for the validity of this I have no idea. Either way they are two different beasts.
While Tarantino is no filmmaker to shy away from violence, Oliver Stone tends to revel in it, and few would believe that Stone started shooting NBK with the intention of making a lighthearted action flick. NBK follows the misadventures of Mickey and Mallory, two merciless killers who massacre their way down Route 666, where the survivor they leave at every scene tell their story. Glorified by the media Mickey and Mallory quickly become twisted heroes of America as they continue to murder their way through their lives.
They always say couples should do more things together. |
NBK is a satire on how all of mankind are predators, all driven by the internal animal, and this is portrayed by every character in the movie not just the stars, Mickey and Mallory. Wayne Gale, Ed Wilson, and Warden Dwight McClusky are all shown as animalistic predator, even when they should be our heroes.
There is nothing quite like a scene of child abuse played out like an 80's sitcom, laugh-track and everything. |
These cuts are not only between the differing colours and viewpoints, but also cut into random clips, including Scarface and even Coca-Cola commercials. The commercials always appear after a rather violent scene, as Stone believed that this would have a calming effect on the audience.
That of course brings us to one of the biggest controversies surrounding this movie, it's effect on the audience. There have been many claims and even attempted charges place against the filmmakers for causing a number of mentally unstable people to go on killing sprees after watching this movie. I won't go into much detail but will urge you to treat every movie you watch as just that, a movie.
NBK isn't light on the imagery, symbolism and the metaphors, most of witch I probably missed. |
Links:
Natural Born Killers IMDB
Entertainment Weekly Top 25 Controversial Movies
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