Natural Born Killers

Last night we were looking to watch a dark comedy and to our surprise, Natural Born Killers showed up on that list.  Neither one of us had seen it before and both of us had heard so much about it that we both wanted to watch it.  It was a seriously violent and uncomfortable film to watch.  But it was also a very interesting commentary on violence and the media.  In fact, by the end of the movie it becomes entirely unclear without visuals to know whether "shoot" is being used to call for a camera shot or for someone to shoot a gun.

Now that I've seen the movie (nearly 20 years after its release), one thing that I think is interesting about the general response to the film's violence and adverse effects on potential copycats is that the media seems to have reproduced the exact same kind of sensationalism and inherent lack of clear ethics (that the film indicts) in their response to the film.  Roger Ebert's 1994 review of the film is spot on, especially when he notes that "(Oliver) Stone has touched a nerve here, because his film isn't about violence, it's about how we respond to violence, and that truly is shocking."  This is why although the film was difficult for me to watch and is not exactly what I would call entertainment, I'm glad I watched it from a critical perspective.  

I guess part of what surprised me about the notoriety of the violence portrayed in the film is that I've definitely seen films that are more violent than this one...for example, maybe Reservoir Dogs, The Silence of the Lambs, and perhaps even that old Brad Pitt movie Seven?  Those are a few that stick out in my mind for having certain horrific scenes that somehow have stayed with me for years after watching them.  The discussion of the limits and effects of violence in American films has been a long-running debate that I'll leave to other far more qualified pundits, but I will say that I agree with the sentiment that Natural Born Killers has been so looked down upon because it makes explicit connections between the American news media, sitcoms, early reality TV, etc. and the 50+ murders that Mickey (see what they did there with a nod to one of America' entertainment's earliest stars, Mickey Mouse?) and Mallory commit throughout the course of the film.  

From that perspective, the film is definitely worth watching to make your own assessment.  Speaking of assessments...if anyone from Netflix is reading this, I would NOT classify this film as a dark comedy.  It is definitely a satire; dark comedy and satire are not at all the same thing.