Monstrosity
Wow, after watching this film I might have a nightmare or two tonight. It did a wonderful job of portraying the mind of a criminal and how they rationalize their actions. I loved the references to the book Crime and Punishment as well. As a lover of crime television and dabbler in criminology, I thought the storyline was very intriguing. Specifically in modern days, more and more people don’t know how to separate their thoughts from their actions and it was made evident from the video.
I was hooked from the beginning as I watched the protagonist (antagonist?) run down the street with bloody hands. Obviously, something bad had just occurred and I was ready to find out what. Also, I love when films start with a short clip of what’s to come and then rewind back. Thank you, director James Rowlins, for getting me excited about this film! It seemed he anticipated my desire for each scene and made it happen. One of the best aspects about this movie to me was the consistent voice over. The actor has an easy on the ears voice and inputted a lot of emotion into his words. Even in the first scene, his voice captured the viewer by talking about Napoleans. Given that those sentences were immediately after his bloody hands scene, I was completely immersed.
One of my favorite scenes in this film was when the main character runs through his school hallways in distress. Although the images of the man he killed could have been shown more disturbingly, the turmoil was obvious. The use of building during that sequence was spot on and the actor portrayal was almost too real. He truly looked confused and angry, which makes me question if he was acting or playing himself. I hope he was acting.
Alas, I can’t talk about the movie without mentioning the main action that is taking place. How does this young kid suddenly become a killer? All the audience sees is that it stems from the book he is reading for class. Unfortunately, that seemed a little too spontaneous for me. I agree that a person can change quickly and for no apparent reason, but I am curious to know if the character had a mental disability or if he had a positive view of murder in the past. It was astounding to see a man kill two people and then presumably himself though and it makes me wonder how many real cases like him there are in the world.
So as not to give the wrong impression to viewers, I would recommend adding a statistic to the end of the film. Maybe something about how murders and suicide are awful things that should not be taken lightly. I personally know of several people who have tried to attempt suicide, not because they felt the regret of killing someone else, but because they regretted being alive. I will stand by my word that I think this film is wonderful and artfully put together by Rowlins, but I am wary of sending the wrong idea. Let’s send a prayer of hope out together that Monstrosity never becomes reality.
