Dahmer - Mente Assassina

"Dahmer" tries to tell one of the most horrific stories of recent years. But the whole story of Jeffrey Dahmer does not get told in this movie. There are some shocking moments, but most of the movie gets bogged down in flashbacks (and even flashbacks-within-flashbacks). At some points, you cannot tell if you're watching another flashback or the present moment in the story. Jeremy Renner plays the title character, with an adequately creepy air. Some of his ghastly crimes are shown, while the gore is kept to a minimum. And Dahmer's homosexuality is mentioned, but much of it is kept just off-camera, as evidenced by the montage of Jeffrey's date rape drug-fueled sodomy marathons. This movie does not try to present Jeffrey Dahmer as Dr. Hannibal Lecter. (How could anyone glamorize this murderer?) But I would have preferred some kind of analysis as to why he became a killer. The strange and tragic story of Jeffrey Dahmer left a lot of people sad and wanting answers. But this movie left me wanting satisfaction.

Extremely well acted, particularly by the lead. Appropriately creepy and atmospheric -- as well as poignant and introspective. Makes a character out of a "monster". Examines Dahmer's struggle with his homosexuality and that struggle's basis for his sickness. Doesn't focus on the violence, and doesn't explore the cannibalism at all. Flashback structure works well. Liked the comparisions of his banal teenage years to the horrific current years. Would have liked a little bit more of an acknowledgement of how totally out of control this guy became. Cinematography is excellent at times -- but is bedeviled by some sloppy focus work. Again, the lead actor is topnotch. This is a work to be proud of.

Movies based on real life serial killers tend to get a lot further under my skin than those with fictional maniacs—films like Dahmer, which details the nauseating activities of gay serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, who drugged and dismembered his unlucky victims, concealing their body-parts in and around his home(s). The fact that these events actually happened (I can remember the discovery of Dahmer's victims in the news) and are portrayed so convincingly makes Dahmer seriously chilling viewing.

Jeremy Renner, as the titular killer, is simply superb, effectively playing the character as both a teenager and an adult. Director David Jacobson shoots in a non-linear fashion, which adds a further dimension of interest, yet he also avoids sensationalism, the gore quotient kept relatively low and other unsettling details of Dahmer's lifestyle thankfully obscured in a drug and alcohol infused haze. It's a wise move: this study of Jeffrey Dahmer's life is disturbing enough without matters getting too graphic.

I did hear a lot of bad buzz about this movie; mainly people were complaining that it was boring. The movie starts out with Jeffrey living alone in his apartment ready to kill his next victim, an Asian boy and meeting another one at the same time, Rodney. We get many flashbacks of when he was young and when he committed his first murder.

So was it boring? Hell No! Well for me it was never boring because from the beginning we are captivated by this lonely and troubled man. The reason behind this was due to Jeremy Renner's real and absorbing portrayal that should stand out as one of the best performances of 2002. Another reason it was never boring was because of its catchy dialogue. Jeffrey had some really though provoking things to say. The best conversations were between Jeffrey and Rodney who was played by Artel Kayaru. He was magnetic and he gave the second best performance.

People who thought that this movie was boring were probably expecting more scenes of Jeff killing all his victims. We don't see all of the crimes and that's because this film was more of a character study than a gore infested horror film. There were some creepy and disturbing scenes but nothing intensely frightening. Only one particular scene that caught me by surprise---oh,that really freaked me out. Great scene, I loved it because it didn't have any music and it was very well directed. It's really weird to feel sorry and be moved by a killer and it's the first time I ever felt that way.

I was surprised at this movie. I was expecting a real exploitation flick, packed with heads in freezers, boiled skulls and necromance painted across the celluloid with a generous brush. It's nothing like that. It's a very quiet and introverted picture, focusing on the inner workings of Jeffrey Dahmer. It's very well shot, and the guy playing Jeffrey does a great job of it. The result is a lot more intense than the obvious splatterfest version would have been.

But, I must admit, I still found the movie lacking. It has tons of great characterization, but there is no narrative drive in the script. It's basically Jeffrey Dahmer taking guys back to his place and flashbacking a lot while waiting for the sedatives to kick in. It doesn't really begin, and it certainly doesn't end. As a character study, it's a fine example of how much you can flesh out your characters (obscure pun intended). As a movie, it doesn't cut it. All characters and no plot makes Jeff a dull boy....