This debut feature film from music video director Dominic Sena is a romp through the world of serial killing, which in its bleakness and moral bankruptcy looks backwards to Terrence Malick's Badlands and forward to Oliver Stone's Natural Born Killers. Michelle Forbes plays hip, Mapplethorpe-esque photographer Carrie Laughlin, who wants to move to California for a fresh start. Her boyfriend, Brian Kessler (David Duchovny), is a writer who has an idea for a new book, a travel tome on the sites of
serial murders. The two plan to go on a cross-country tour of the murder sites, with Brian writing the commentary and Carrie taking the pictures. But they need a couple to share the driving expenses; enter Grayce (Brad Pitt) and his girlfriend, Adele (Juliette Lewis, in a warm-up for her role in Natural Born Killers). Grayce is an ex-con looking to jump parole, while Adele is a childlike naïf. Soon the four are off to California, but the yuppie couple doesn't realize how close they are to their serial killer topic. It seems Grayce has murdered his landlord before their trip and bodies begin piling up disturbingly behind them as they make their way across the country. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi
Brad Pitt's performance is crucial, and he rips into the character with a frightening sense of unhinged egomania, violently subverting the Redford-lite pretty-boy image with which so many wanted to associate him
The movie begins extremely well before escalating into the inevitable Straw Dogs confrontation, when the sensitive-intellectual man discovers, just like Dustin Hoffman, that when push comes to shove, we're all brutes and animals.
Very few people would dare to question Brad Pitt's versatility today. That was different in the early 90s, when he was still underestimated as just another pretty face. Undeservedly so, as this early work in his oeuvre shows. He has hardly ever been as menacing, unpredictable and merciless as in this thriller about an
author taking a road trip to famous murder sites and sharing gas costs with a white trash couple. As brilliant as Pitt is, he is even outshined by Juliette Lewis as dumb but sweet bimbo. As the trip turns more and more into a nightmare for the yuppie couple, the violence is ruthless, realistic and ugly, as in real life. While our protagonist ("Mulder" David Duchovny) is looking for an explanation for the mindset of serial killers, the film has no answers to the questions of the their motifs. Which just makes it even more unpleasant and important. Well done.
Fear never travels aloneGood movie. It gets better as it goes along. Not only is the story very impressive, so is the acting from our four leads. Overall this is a very good and impressive psychological thriller with a very powerful story.Brian Kessler, a journalist researching serial killers, and his photographer
girlfriend Carrie set out on a cross-country tour of the sites of the killings. Sharing the ride and their expenses are Early Grayce, a paroled white trash criminal, and his girlfriend Adele. As the trip progresses, Early begins to appear more and more unstable, and Brian and Carrie begin to fear that they may have a real-life killer in the back seat of their car.
No quotes approved yet for Kalifornia. Logged in users can submit quotes.
Submit a Quote from 'Kalifornia'
A quote can be a single line from one character or a memorable dialog between several characters. Please make your quotes accurate. Quotes will be submitted for approval by the RT staff.
Example:
Luke: Alright. I'll give it a try. Yoda: No. Try not. Do or do not. There is no try.
