Review // True Story

[projekktor id=’18516′]

If you’re a fan of cable shows like 20/20 or 48 Hours Mysteries, there’s a good chance you’ve already heard the story of Christian Longo and Michael Finkel. In 2002 Longo was on the FBI’s Most Wanted list for the murder of his wife and their three children. When he was finally captured in Mexico, he claimed to be disgraced New York Times journalist Michael Finkel, much to the real Michael Finkel’s great surprise. Director Rupert Goold tells this stranger-than-fiction tale in his feature film directorial debut True Story, but perhaps it should have been left to the cable shows.

Jonah Hill stars as Michael Finkel, an enterprising young journalist knocking on the door of his first Pulitzer thanks to his investigative journalism around the world. However when a sloppy piece of fabrication is brought to light, Finkel is released by the newspaper and returns to a small Montana farm to plot his next move. That move comes to him in the form of Christian Longo, recently captured in Mexico and being held in an Oregon prison. Intrigued as to why Longo would use his name, Finkel begins regular visits to the prison. As he interviews Longo about his crimes, Finkel becomes convinced that there is more to the story, and that there may be more of a connection between the men than just a name.

…the majority of the film’s run time is spent on mildly interesting conversations between men who we’ve already made our minds up about.

Shot in sterile greys, whites and blues, and told at a languid pace, True Story feels like a stylistic lovechild of David Fincher and Bennett Miller, but with the less interesting parts of each. Goold banks largely on the fact that we’ll find the story interesting on the basis of it’s veracity, never really providing much of a reason to be interested beyond that. Based on Finkel’s memoir, the film places us in his shoes, unsure whether we’ve uncovered a fascinating story or whether we’re being cleverly manipulated by a sociopath. While that struggle may have been real to Finkel, it’s less engaging and more tedious on screen. The real moments of genuine interest come as Mike investigates the facts of Longo’s story. Unfortunately these are short and provide little food for thought, making it feel as if the director is intentionally obscuring his hand as to better surprise us at the end.

The film does benefit from great casting. Jonah Hill and James Franco are perfectly matched to their characters. Hill’s gullible, selfish enthusiasm is perfect for Mike Finkel, while Franco’s fish-cold charm is enough to give you the shivers as Longo. Even Felicity Jones, who is woefully underused for much of the film as Mike’s wife Jill, gets in on the action in the latter stages, delivering the film’s most riveting monologue during a visit to Longo in jail. However despite feeling appropriate in their roles, there is little chemistry in the many two-handed scenes between Hill and Franco, meaning that the majority of the film’s run time is spent on mildly interesting conversations between men who we’ve already made our minds up about.

True Story winds up as a serviceable true crime tale that never really exceeds something you can see on the small screen on a Saturday afternoon. The fact that Christian Longo has obsessed over the real Michael Finkel for much of his career suggests that there truly is something fascinating in this story, unfortunately it’s not to be found in the film.

Reviewed by Evan Arppe.