Film Reviews: Why Does America Love a Killer? [Natural Born Killers, 1994]

Natural Born Killers (1994)

[Reader disclaimer: there will be some spoilers discussed. This piece also contains material of a mature/graphic nature].

From the brilliantly twisted minds of Quentin Tarantino and David Veloz, Natural Born Killers (1994) is a film from the early 90s following two lovers on their rampage of violence, chaos, sex and more violence. It is an artful mixture of sadomasochism, socio-political commentary and destiny, sinking its claws into you from the get-go with director Oliver Stone's uniquely sporadic style (the final edit of the film, after all, featured 18 different film formats). 

This film is intense and experimental in its edit, bleeding realms of insanity and stabilised reality together: we enter the world of Mickey and Mallory Knox, the camera angle unsteady and the filters interchanging between black and white and red. We are shown quick cuts of decaying life, a scorpion being squashed, a deer rotting by the side of the road. And then, we see the two main characters interacting, so devout in their love for one another that you could almost forget that they are psychopathic mass murderers. They are, in essence, the modernised Romeo and Juliet...with shotguns.

What's so deeply intriguing and attention-grabbing about Natural Born Killers is the way in which certain scenes are depicted. For example, Mallory's backstory is presented as a 50s sitcom, juxtaposing light-hearted music and an overly ambitious laugh track with scenes of domestic violence and sexual abuse. It's uncomfortable to watch, despite the prompts for a sitcom audience to be interactive. We then transition into the meeting of Mickey and Mallory, shifting to a black and white filter with soft lighting, reminiscent of the film noir era, abruptly changing the tone of the scene entirely. 

Although Stone's vision is artful and whimsical, it could also be argued that it is somewhat haphazard and too chaotic in places. For example, in the third act of the film, a prison riot ensues with quick cuts of prisoners murdering other prisoners, guards being beaten senseless, the warden (brilliantly played by Tommy Lee Jones) running around like a headless chicken. 

However, even for a film as experimental as this one, I think less cuts could've been used for that particular scene. In comparison to other films written by Tarantino, this one tends to bludgeon you over the head with imagery in places that easily could've been rectified with cleverly written dialogue or exposition, as opposed to someone getting their face caved in with a crowbar. 

Another aspect of Natural Born Killers that will give some audience members food for thought is that Mickey and Mallory aren't necessarily the villains of the film. If anything, characters such as Wayne Gale (played by Robert Downey Jr.) and Jack Scagnetti (played by Tom Sizemore) are more corrupt than our titular anti-heroes. Moreover, Wayne represents the toxicity of mainstream media and the way in which it romanticizes violence, and Jack embodies everything wrong with white privilege, as well as the disreputable connotations connected with American law enforcement. 

"By putting virtuoso technique at the service of lazy thinking, Stone turns his film into the demon he wants to mock: cruelty as entertainment." - Peter Travers

Stone and Tarantino's concoction of blood splatter and ingenious commentary make this film the gloriously gory marvel that it is but one has to give credit to the performances of Woody Harrelson and Juliette Lewis as Mickey and Mallory: the former being a cold, calculated yet delightfully charming killer and the latter being a lovable, psychotic and whimsically troubled one. 

Lewis' performance in particular is admirable and I think Mallory's character is by far the most complex and intriguing one. It's almost understandable to a point why she acts the way that she does, why she murdered the people she did. It is not justifiable, and Stone ensures that through the interactions the characters have with her, but it's most certainly an interesting (if not unusual) representation of a serial killer.

Harrelson's performance, ironically, takes more of a backseat to hers. I'm not disputing that it wasn't at all fantastical and entertainingly crazy, but it certainly didn't have the same kind of attention that Lewis' did, and I personally think that's a good thing. A trope in most 'troubled lovers' storylines is that the female counterpart is the "ride or die", the one who goes along with her male lover because she wants to do everything for/with him (much like the relationship between fictional characters such as Harley Quinn and the Joker or Anastasia Steele and Christian Grey). In that respect, it was refreshing to see a woman both devoted to her man yet also independent enough to make her own decisions, speak her mind and murder at her own leisure. 

This film is chaotic, intense but surprisingly funny in places. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and it was a nice change of pace to admire Tarantino's work without his directorial perception. 

If you liked this film, I'd also recommend the following:

• Reservoir Dogs (1992)
• Man Bites Dog (1992)
• True Romance (1993)
• Planet Terror (2007)
• Savages (2012)

Overall rating: 8/10

- K