True Story – Spiel um Macht (2015)

True Story – Spiel um Macht: Directed by Rupert Goold. With Jonah Hill, James Franco, Felicity Jones, Maria Dizzia. When disgraced New York Times reporter Michael Finkel meets accused killer Christian Longo – who has taken on Finkel’s identity – his investigation morphs into a game of cat-and-mouse.

“I had been looking forward to True Story since I first saw the trailer in December. And then I read reviews tonight on it and was pretty worried. I actually almost didnu0026#39;t go to the theater to see it. I almost considered waiting for the DVD (or Digital HD rather, Ha) release. I am glad I didnu0026#39;t. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eI am not going to recap the entire summary of the film, as if you are reading this, chances are you already know it, and if you donu0026#39;t, the less you know the better. I just finished researching the true story of the film, and it appears this film is quite close to the truth. (Unlike the characters in the film)u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThis is a movie about deception involving characters that fabricate the truth to incredible lengths and spin endless webs of lies. One character to a lesser extent to the other, but I found it interesting how this film portrayed the similarities between these two men. The story is brilliantly woven, and extreme attention to detail is paid. The cinematography is beautiful, the acting is solid, this is just all around an exceptionally well made film. Itu0026#39;s tragic, yet very thought provoking. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe main two complaints I heard in critical reviews were that the film lacked suspense, and that it was a whole lot of buildup with no payoff. The no payoff criticism concerned me the most, as I canu0026#39;t stand movies like that, and that criticism seemed to be the biggest people were making. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eRealize going in, this is a psychological drama/thriller. I personally was riveted and in constant psychological suspense, but there isnu0026#39;t any real physical suspense throughout the film. The suspense comes from a psychological place, falling victim to the constant mind games, and not knowing what the truth really is. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAnd as for the biggest criticism, that there wasnu0026#39;t any payoff, I couldnu0026#39;t disagree more. Iu0026#39;d like to ask these critics to their face – how much more payoff are you looking for? Given the details of the true events, there isnu0026#39;t any more payoff that could have been provided, in fact, I felt the payoff of this film to be big. It was a psychologically riveting experience that provided a lot to think about long after the end credits rolled.”