| | Tue Jul 24, 2007 12:18 pm | | | | Comments: 0 Views: 543 |
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Cohesion : 5
Composition : 4
Contrast : 2
Dynamics : 2
Humor : 1
Intelligence : 4
Production : 3
Quality : 5
Cohesion : 5
This is really a review of two HBO produced interviews of Mafia Hitman Richard Kuklinski. The first episode was filmed in the early 90's, and the second ten years later. The look and feel of the two interviews are very different. However, the second barely seemed worth watching. It should have been more of an extension of the first but it ended up entirely rehashing it. Only small details are changed and you get to hear about a couple more murders. The production really failed to create a compelling return to the story because of this.
Composition : 4
In the beginning of both episodes the narrator expresses a desire to get into the mind of Kuklinski, but it seemed that the material that was presented, and the questions that were asked, only occasionally revealed anything about the mind of this man at all. It was more an exercise in the mans limited ability to tell stories about the things he has done. While this worked for the first episode the second episode attempted to over dramatize the story which had already become familiar.
Contrast : 2
Both films are mostly composed of interviews interspersed with commentary and some historical footage and photographs. It's done pretty plainly, and that worked for the first episode, but the second tried to be too glamorous. They brought in more dramatic narration and tried to use fancy editing and it just ended up looking contrived.
Dynamics : 2
There is a huge difference between the man you see in the first interview from the man in the second but the production doesn't bring that out at all (to my severe and constant frustration). It's hard to tell which is a more telling portrayal of Kuklinski because the filmmakers hardly used any footage from the second interview and spent way to much time rehashing material covered in the first. More than that, instead of trying to focus on understanding the man and how he thinks they use dramatizing and manipulative production techniques that make you want to condemn the man without thinking. I walked away from both films feeling a little bored and resentful that I hadn't been given what was promised; an attempt to understand the mind of a killer.
Humor : 1
It's an interview of a mafia hitman and sociopath who takes everything dead seriously. No humor here.
Intelligence : 4
This film could have been intelligent had it been a little bit more focussed on its stated objective instead of focusing on unexplained and seemingly irrelevant details of the man's life. While each sequence of the first interview is very interesting nothing was ever well tied together or discussed and a lot of assumptions and judgments are made (especially by the seconds criminally bad narration) without showing any real support.
Production : 3
The first production looks like a cheaply made special report from the 80's. I actually liked the way it looked and felt and it didn't make me feel bored. It was almost as good as 60 minutes circa 1989. The later interview and subsequent production looked like complete garbage without any of the firsts' charm. It's evidence of the eventual decline and fall of the west into a society governed by the principles of Casey Kasem and the religious right.
Quality : 5
I really enjoyed watching the first interview even if it never fully delivered. The second could have been great but HBO messed it all up by giving it a budget. There are points in the second where I thought "wow, that was a perspective I didn't have at all when I watched the first" but that wasn't enough to make up for HBO's poor execution on the series. They should have brought in the 7up guy for this.
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