To start off this is my first review on IMDb. I'm a film fan but am not someone who is particularly chatty. I decided to register an account after attending the Twin Cities Festival after speaking to the director and producer of this movie since appreciating their original take on subject matter that is part of our cultural lexicon and therefor constantly remade into both TV and film material, sometimes good and sometimes bad.
Something they made clear in the Q&A following the film's premiere October 18 was that they felt that the Manson story had been told many times but that none of the previous versions really showed the Charlie Manson character for who he was, which was a master manipulator but still a "living, breathing human being" to quote them.
Local boy Ryan Kiser portrays Charlie with a subtlety and earnestness that makes the character all the more frightening. His Charlie is someone who you could have an innocent conversation with that could haunt you later. If you want to show how someone can manipulate scores of young adults you don't portray them as a lunatic like previous Charlie stories, you portray them as someone comforting who you want to be around, and the script, direction, and performances did a great job doing this.
The story is told on two timelines. One of them starts with Charlie's arrest at Barker ranch after the Manson family crimes with Charlie being interviewed by an attorney to stand trial and the other being a pick and choose of the events of Charlie's life that climaxes with the killings. This type of approach sometimes works and can sometimes be confusing but to me it worked. It's clear cut which timeline is which and I didn't find any problem with this. There isn't a lot of emphasis on the supporting cast since this is a Charlie story but I enjoyed their performances especially that of Tex Watson who is portrayed as an eager to please sociopath. The look he gave Sharon Tate before stabbing her was almost a little too good. Patricia and Susan were good too. You really felt that these were kids who didn't understand how horrible their crimes are and would die for Charlie, as a very tense scene plays out.
The other reviews pointed out that this was an early cut of the film and that there were some sound problems that were gonna be fixed and that some scenes may be cut out before the movie comes out on DVD. The director said that this screening is going to determine what scenes those are so I am curious which ones they choose. I hope the DVD release is announced soon. This film is Charlie's story and I'm glad someone finally told it without making it about other things for once.
Something they made clear in the Q&A following the film's premiere October 18 was that they felt that the Manson story had been told many times but that none of the previous versions really showed the Charlie Manson character for who he was, which was a master manipulator but still a "living, breathing human being" to quote them.
Local boy Ryan Kiser portrays Charlie with a subtlety and earnestness that makes the character all the more frightening. His Charlie is someone who you could have an innocent conversation with that could haunt you later. If you want to show how someone can manipulate scores of young adults you don't portray them as a lunatic like previous Charlie stories, you portray them as someone comforting who you want to be around, and the script, direction, and performances did a great job doing this.
The story is told on two timelines. One of them starts with Charlie's arrest at Barker ranch after the Manson family crimes with Charlie being interviewed by an attorney to stand trial and the other being a pick and choose of the events of Charlie's life that climaxes with the killings. This type of approach sometimes works and can sometimes be confusing but to me it worked. It's clear cut which timeline is which and I didn't find any problem with this. There isn't a lot of emphasis on the supporting cast since this is a Charlie story but I enjoyed their performances especially that of Tex Watson who is portrayed as an eager to please sociopath. The look he gave Sharon Tate before stabbing her was almost a little too good. Patricia and Susan were good too. You really felt that these were kids who didn't understand how horrible their crimes are and would die for Charlie, as a very tense scene plays out.
The other reviews pointed out that this was an early cut of the film and that there were some sound problems that were gonna be fixed and that some scenes may be cut out before the movie comes out on DVD. The director said that this screening is going to determine what scenes those are so I am curious which ones they choose. I hope the DVD release is announced soon. This film is Charlie's story and I'm glad someone finally told it without making it about other things for once.