Kalifornia (1993)

The Worst Film Ever

Memorable, crazy movie

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

I had high hopes for this movie, it had a good plot. Could have been a great movie, especially considering the actors/actresses . However this movie was just SO slow, almost nothing at all really going on until the last 3rd of the movie. I really like Juliette Lewis so I got this mainly because of her, and the plot sounded promising but boy was I wrong. Besides the painfully slow majority, the "southern" accents are absolutely terrible, I live in the south. It doesn't sound like that. And the weird noise Pitt's character makes, and the "doors" he yammers about ...what on earth is that about?! Oh and let's not forget Juliette's child like goofy bs....overall just a crap movie.

It's more than twenty years since I last saw this and I didn't really remember anything. Not even how violent it was, not even that it had a serial killer theme. I just remembered that it was a film to watch again some time because it was great. And so it is. Clearly not for everyone, this is one hell of a violent road movie with Brad Pitt in crashing, cruelly uncaring and at time even incoherently hateful and his little lady by his side, Juliette Lewis. We have seen her do her Southern, waif like kiddie stuff before but here she is allowed to go full throttle and so we have the most disturbing couple. Wild and horrific Brad and 'he only whips me if I deserve it' Juliette. Not an easy ride then but David Duchovny seems not too put out, certainly at first. He's already started up the Red Shoes Diary machine, about to become a real star through X-Files and Brad Pitt freaking out isn't going to ruffle his feathers, well at first anyway. Possibly a tad long, some have criticised the prolonged and crunchingly violent ending but if you fancy an off the wall road movie featuring one of Brad Pitt's best performances plus Juliette Lewis doing what she does best and then some, you can't do better than watch this mini classic

There's an interesting examination in the psychology of a serial killer, and the explanation of what drives them to be the the sadistic blood thirsty savages to be handed here. While this dark thriller directed by Dominic Sena sadly fails to supplement these concepts into the film, we are fortunate enough to experience a dark, heart-pounding execution of a story following a man and woman on a cross-country trip while carrying a stowaway passenger with a something deeply monstrous behind the mask. All of this is carried out by Brad Pitt in arguably his strangest and most villainous role he's ignited in his career, a role that allows him to expand upon his cinematic variety and exercise on the opposite side of the moral compass. The film follows the story of Brian Kessler (played by David Duchovney), a criminalogy journalist researching serial killers for his novel, and Carrie Laughlin (played by Michelle Forbes), his girlfriend and photographer set on a cross-country adventure to California to research infamous murder sites. Sharing a ride with them is trailer-trash criminal Early Grace (played by Brad Pitt) and his needy girlfriend Adele (played by Juliette Lewis). But as they progress on their journey, Brian and Carrie find their lives in danger when Early begin exhibiting violent, sadistic behavior -- the behavior of a real-life serial killer.Director Dominic Sena offers something more intelligent in mind rather than a simple, violence-driven character study; and to some extent Sena manages to make this work. His biggest strength is establishing a vile, sadistic antagonist with a traumatized past and a extreme bloodlust, and this antagonist happens to be Brad Pitt's Early Grace, a man with multiple run-ins with the law, dating a sweet hotshot who he whips around all the time, and is a subject of a dark past the film makes rather vague attempts to explain. The major flaw that lies into this morally grey character is the story's failure to dig deep into the psychology of his mindset. Why is this guy such a savage killer? Why does he treat his girlfriend like dirt? His girlfriend played by Juliette Lewis who gives a sweet, innocent performance similar to her other roles, is portrayed as more morally constructed woman who's forced to respecting Early as more of a authority figure than a soulmate, which is best demonstrated in a scene where she's seen smoking a cigarette and tells Michelle Forbes's character "I used to smoke, but Early broke me from it", clearly implying domestic abuse. This one of the harrowing elements that defines Early Grace by Brad Pitt who is delivers a terrifying and darkly funny impression of a Charles Manson-like serial killer with a cynical attitude towards the general society and murders innocents bystanders for the sake of his own pleasure while squeezing out a thick Southern accent. As the story progresses and the body count (including the law enforcement officers) with his vicious savagery graphically racks up, the film strikes the heart of the viewers with relentless shock value (and gore), rather than pinning you at the edge of your seats with creeping suspense.Kalifornia is dark, tense road trip thriller blessed with a harrowing, and sadistic performance by Brad Pitt in one of his rarest roles; but doesn't quite leave a long-lasting impact to result in a truly memorable picture. This film as a whole is nerve-racking in many senses, but not quite smart nor does it showcase a satiral edge.

What goes on in the mind of a serial killer? What is it, really, that separates "us" from "them"? More importantly, what is with the fascination that so many of us have for true crime stories and deviant individuals? What does it take to change a persons' opinion on the subject? These are questions that this grim, stylish, intelligent drama asks as it plays out. It offers interesting roles to a talented quartet of performers, and is very straightforward with the way it portrays acts of violence.David Duchovny plays Brian Kessler, a writer with a fixation on serial killers who's gotten an advance to write a book about them. With his photographer girlfriend Carrie Laughlin (Michelle Forbes) in tow, he embarks on a road trip of research as he travels across America to visit the sites of various crimes. The two of them get closer to their subject matter than they could have imagined when they hook up with dirt poor trailer trash couple Early Grayce (Brad Pitt) and Adele Corners (Juliette Lewis). Early, you see, is a vicious sociopath who does some awful things without feeling any remorse about them.One major theme of the film is the evolution of the Brian character. He starts out as pretty liberal when it comes to the serial killer topic and is forced to realize the fact that - as he says near the end - that any one of us *is* capable of taking another humans' life if properly motivated. There's not really that much separation, after all."Kalifornia" is one of those films that works on both the intellectually stimulating and visceral levels. It's fascinating to watch, even as it deliberately paces itself for close to two hours. Pitt is excellent, truly disappearing inside his role and enjoying playing the different aspects to this killer. Lewis is fine as a sweet, simple girl; this part of hers is intriguing when you contrast it to the one she plays in the next years' "Natural Born Killers". Duchovny and Forbes are believable as they do the bulk of the reacting in this film.Hailed by some as a serial killer story for the thinking person, this is a ride well worth taking.Eight out of 10.