True Story

if you'd asked me to rate this half way through, i'd say it was at least 8 or 9, everything was well done, a well made film that had you guessing and the cast was great...

but then you realise there was no clever ending, no twist, no moment where all the pieces come together... unfortunately, at the title suggests, this is a true story, and the reality is there is no real story to tell.

really disappointing, missed opportunity in my opinion as the cast was perfect, the tension was built up, the filming was so well done... for nothing.

True stories... are often boring, people argue that 'that's what really happened'... that's fine but many things happen, every day, they just don't need multi million pound films made about them.

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 didn'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 didn't.

I 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 don'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)

This 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. It's tragic, yet very thought provoking.

The 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 can't stand movies like that, and that criticism seemed to be the biggest people were making.

Realize going in, this is a psychological drama/thriller. I personally was riveted and in constant psychological suspense, but there isn'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.

And as for the biggest criticism, that there wasn't any payoff, I couldn't disagree more. I'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 isn'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.

Saw True Story (film) starring Jonah Hill, James Franco, and Felicity Jones at Regal Cinemas last night! The film is based on actual events. It was very unusual, yet interesting and visually stimulating to see both Jonah and James playing roles so out of their ordinary type. Hill portrays Michael Finkel, The New York Times journalist who is subsequently terminated by the paper after being accused of incomplete research and creating a composite character, a boy named Youssouf Male while covering a story in an article about Ivory Coast Cocoa Plantations.

After being let go by the Times, Finkel (Hill) struggles to find journalistic job opportunities until one day he receives a mysterious phone call from a man regarding an FBI – Federal Bureau of Investigation Most Wanted individual named Christian Longo, portrayed by Franco, who is wanted for murdering his entire family and is eventually captured in México while claiming to be living as Finkel. Finkel decides this is an opportunity story of a life time, so he meets with Longo trying to figure out why his now tarnished journalistic name was used by this accused murderer.

Finkel agrees to share his journalistic expertise with Longo in exchange for information regarding the murders for his Murder Memoir which tells a "True Story" regarding the events portrayed in the film. While in Newport, Oregon County Jail awaiting trial, Longo corresponds with Finkel via U.S. Mail, sending him written clues which appear to be confusing and misleading about his family life, yet enough information to put the pieces of the puzzle together and compile a Murder Memoir. Finkel attends the trial and at the end he uncovers the "True Story."

The film has several twists and turns which will keep you interested. It was cool to see both Hill and Franco play roles no one would ever think they would take on. Both actors handled this "True Story" film brilliantly! Not a must see, but definitely worth seeing if you want to experience these veteran actor Academy Award Nominees in diverse roles. My cinema score is 7/10! ‪#‎maverickradio‬™

I've been reading a lot of reviews here talking about how this movie is basically a build up with no pay off. While I agree with the build up part, I might have to disagree with the latter. This is a true story about a disgraced top journalist who then will befriend an accused murderer. The journalist Mike, played by Jonah hill became intrigued when he finds out that Longo, played by James Franco has been using his name for an alias. The two meet up and Mike sensing a big story for his come back from disgrace, befriended Longo with the incentive of helping him with his writing. So then they would correspondence with each other but without ever establishing that Longo is guilty. Mike even think that he's innocent.

Things then took a turn when Longo pleads guilty to two counts of murders out of four counts, with the intention of manipulating the court. From this point on, this to me was the pay off. The moment Longo testifies about what happened on the night of the murders, we the viewers as well as our main character Mike, realised that we have been manipulated all along by Longo. All this time Mike has been teaching him about storytelling and Longo used that to his advantage. When Mike realised what's truly happening, Longo turned around to face mike. With a little shrug, a wink and a slight smile, he realized he was fooled, its like someone douse him with cold water, the realization is sobering. This was a very good scene, and to me, a pay off doesn't always have to be grand or climactic, a little moment like this could have just as much of a punch as a big moment.

I especially enjoyed the last 30 minutes of this movie. This movie is worth to watch if you enjoyed crime thriller.

"True Story" from 2015 stars Jonah Hill and James Franco as writer Mike Finkel and killer Christian Longo, respectively.

Finkel was a well-regarded journalist for the New York Times who fudged a story and combined five people into one, was caught, and was fired.

He learns later that a man who murdered his wife and three children, Christian Longo, was caught in Mexico and was at the time using the name Mike Finkel. Intrigued, Finkel arranges a meeting.

What follows is a bonding experience, where Longo claims to be a long-time fan of Finkel, and Finkel finds similarities between his own life and is impressed that he and Finkel even take similar types of notes. Longo asks that none of the information he gives Finkel be released until after the trial and promises him exclusivity. In exchange, Longo would like to learn to write the way that Finkel can and asks for pointers.

Finkel begins to believe that Longo is covering someone and doubts his guilt. He also realizes that the story is more than article -

it's a book.

It's not until the trial that Finkel learns the true story.

Good film about an actual case, but while it's effective, it doesn't have the bone-chilling quality it could have. The acting is good, particularly by Franco who has the showier role. The acting is done in a naturalistic style - a tiny bit more punch in a film like this might have helped as it lacks some necessary emotion.

I think a stronger script or even more potent direction could have made this a truly devastating experience. As it is, it's interesting without being fascinating.