Natural Born Killers

This is a film that I am very familiar with, for I own the DVD and have seen it numerous times. I have always been a fan of Oliver Stone- everything from JFK to Platoon. But, none of his other work compares to his guerrilla style film making with Natural Born Killers.

NBK is a crazy ride that takes the audience on a psychedelic, fast-paced, scary, eye-opening, and yet humorous journey. The film covers so many topics- everything from sex, violence, the media, love, and religion.

I love the cinematography in this film because it is different. Stone uses different filters and colors to provide more symbolism to what he is trying to convey on screen. I love how shots go from color to black and white when Robert Downey Jr's character comes on.

This film is pretty much the equivalent of an acid trip. Not that I would know from personal experience but I have friends who do and have told me that this is pretty close to it. What I found interesting in the reading was the description of Stone himself. I never realized how truly out there and messed up he was, and granted I knew that he did have some problems- especially when it came to politics. In the reading, a New Yorker article stated "Oliver Stone is a man much like Mickey: a man given to "tirades and bad behaviors, to womanizing and long, intoxicated journeys into the night." The reading goes onto describe how Stone would go on "mushroom fueled journeys to Arizona and New Mexico for location scouts." And how he was known to just fondle employees like it was no big deal on set. Becoming aware of this it all makes sense as to how messed up this movie is. It is now interesting to go back and watch this film knowing that Mickey is this exaggerated form of Stone.

The film also deals a lot with sex and incest. Probably one of the most intense and uncomfortable scenes is the "I Love Mallory" television show. It features Rodney Dangerfield as her father who is abusive- physically and sexually. In the piece it is shown that he raped his daughter Mallory. I remember when I first saw this years ago and feeling so strange and uncomfortable when the laugh track would be played at the most inappropriate times.

This scene is a very interesting one because it shows the effects of sexual abuse and one's psychological reaction to it. The reading discusses how Mallory's attraction to Mickey is due to her abusive father and upbringing. "As an incest victim, she has been broken in by her father and thus is primed for the sadistic Mickey's controlling embrace." I find this truly interesting because it does make sense. Here is a man who kills innocent people and does not show any regrets. But he is a man who loves Mallory, a man who will do anything for her. Mallory, a girl who has never been truly loved by a man in a moral way, naturally falls for Mickey, although blind to the many faults that exist within him.

Natural Born Killers is a film that studies childhood upbringing and the effects on children. It is a film that demonstrates early traumatic stress and trauma can result in drastic and scary measures.