30/03/2012: Natural Born Killers [1994]

The Entertainment Weekly's list of the Top 25 most controversial list is an interesting one. One of it's most surprising factors is the number of big name directors and well known movie on the list. From Martin Scorsese, to Stanley Kubric, from Oliver Stone to Mel Gibson the list is filled with well known films. Sitting at number 8 is Oliver Stone's Natural Born Killers, the only director to hold two spots on the list.




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.

 Of course, NBK quickly derailed from being any kind of lighthearted fun movie. Anyone who watches it will realize that Stone intends to deliver a very clear message, one that, to quote a friend, is delivered with the absolute subtlety of a sledgehammer. Natural Born Killers is an ironic satire on the effects of the media, human society and mankind's need to destroy. As such NBK shows how the horrendous actions of the murderous couple are glorified and treated like entertainment for the rest of America. I think one of the most important things one can note from watching it almost 20 years later is that little has changed. The ultra-violence that was considered to be so over the top then is almost standard today.

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.

 In order to really finger the media as the target of his message Oliver Stone created one of the strangest visceral movies ever.( may have just thrown in those words, either way it's weird).  The films contains 18 different film formats! From colour to black and white, with every shade of sickly green in between, the movie is constantly cutting between different shots. I warn you, if you're one of those people who get disoriented by just a little bit of askew camerawork, NBK will make you toss your cookies pretty fast. The camera, I don't think, is horizontal for more than ~15% of this movie. The movie also contains over 3000 cuts, more than 4 times the average movie, and required 11 months of editing to put together. 


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.

So Natural Born Killers is definitely not a movie for just anyone. You need to be able to stomach it's ulta-violence and ever changing camera views. However, it does send a message, although whether it was heard or not is arguable. This movie is perfect for anyone studying film, and any fan of Oliver Stone's. I for one am happy I saw it, as it was an important message it tried to send and one that still holds up today. Also the tag-lines speak for themselves. I also just realized that Mallory was played by Juliette Lewis, and NBK could probably be interpreted as some kinda twisted Romeo and Juliette story.

Links:
Natural Born Killers IMDB
Entertainment Weekly Top 25 Controversial Movies