In 1969, young secretary and single mother Elizabeth Kendall (Lily Collins) meets law student Ted Bundy (Zac Efron) and they soon start dating. By 1974, however, numerous local women are reported missing and of course, Ted is a suspect. Three years later, he's convicted and stays in prison until his execution in 1989.
Based on Kendall's memoir of her time with Bundy, Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile gives a glimpse into their intimate, tumultuous relationship as well as Bundy's simultaneous relationship with childhood friend Carole Anne Boone (Kaya Scodelario), whom he eventually marries; Liz eventually ties the knot with her colleague Jerry Thompson (Haley Joel Osment). Efron, Scodelario and particularly Collins are all solid, filling their very complex characters with an admirable lack of judgment.
But unfortunately - and maybe I felt this because I watch a lot of true crime documentaries and so I could be desensitised to such content - the aesthetic and narrative approach director Joe Berlinger and writer Michael Werlie take is just boringly tame. Yes, it's meant to be more of a character study of Bundy and the women in his personal life and yes, that's an unusual avenue to take but how they went down it simply didn't sustain my intrigue. There are no scenes of Bundy actually committing his crimes and I know how well-known those are but however this may paint me, I wanted to see a few of them depicted here, interspersed with what it does explore. I hate subtlety in films like this.
But unfortunately - and maybe I felt this because I watch a lot of true crime documentaries and so I could be desensitised to such content - the aesthetic and narrative approach director Joe Berlinger and writer Michael Werlie take is just boringly tame. Yes, it's meant to be more of a character study of Bundy and the women in his personal life and yes, that's an unusual avenue to take but how they went down it simply didn't sustain my intrigue. There are no scenes of Bundy actually committing his crimes and I know how well-known those are but however this may paint me, I wanted to see a few of them depicted here, interspersed with what it does explore. I hate subtlety in films like this.
Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile does have its moments, and I give it kudos for seeking to navigate the motivations inside such a disturbed mind, but it withholds too much for me. 6/10.
No comments:
Post a Comment