Helter Skelter - La folie de Charles Manson

If you are really interested enough in the whole Manson affair to

devote 7 hours to it, it would probably be best to see this together

with the 1976 original, because the two fascinatingly complement

each other like yin and yang, or two pieces of a jigsaw puzzle.

Moreover, in spite of the chronology of their release, it would

probably be better to see the 2004 version first, then the 1976

version. The 1976 version begins with the murders already having

occured, whereas the 2004 version focuses mainly on the events

leading up to the murders, and hardly at all on the legal aspects. It

could be summed up: 1976 version, mostly detective and legal

work, 2004 version, mostly a psychological study.

The 2004 version succeeds quite well in showing how Manson

had the power that he did. Nothing that Manson says makes

much sense; he exhibits what shrinks call tangentiality, i.e., the

inability to focus on a point. While this leads most people to avoid

Manson in the outside world, in the cloistered environment of

Manson's commune, it forces the listener to listen all the more

closely. In Jeremy Davies' riveting performance, Manson seems

almost oracular; the very obscurity of what he was saying can

make him seem, to the young naifs with whom he surrounded

himself, profound. It is easy to see how they found him hypnotic.

Davies makes Manson seem scarier than ever.

A pregnant Linda Kasabian (Clea DuVall) arrives at George Spahn's old western movie set ranch with her daughter Tanya. The group is led by the charismatic Charles Manson (Jeremy Davies). Manson is obsessed making his song with producer Terry Melcher and Beachboys' Dennis Wilson. Linda steals $5000 from her husband's friend for Manson. The Manson family continues their crime spree. Manson goes looking for Terry Melcher but is received coolly by the new leasee Roman Polanski's wife Sharon Tate's friend. Melcher is giving Manson the cold shoulder. Manson tells the family of an impending race war Helter Skelter. Linda is the driver as Manson directs members of the family to massacre Sharon Tate and her friends.

Jeremy Davies has always been great playing crazy. It's odd to say but he may be playing Manson as too crazy. Some of the early outbursts feel a little over the top. I buy his crazy rants when he's in prison. No matter what, he is able to command the screen. Clea DuVall is suppose to be the lead. She gets a bit overshadowed. The one thing I do like a lot is that it lays out the reason why Manson kills Sharon Tate. The story flows well which is a difficult task for such a messy real story.

I sure enjoyed this campy, terrible new version of Bugliosi's flawed, fascinating version of the Manson murders. I suppose the production's tragic flaw is that Warner Bros. was determined to exploit Jeremy Davies' uncanny Charles Manson impersonation, but unwilling to devote much time to it. It's difficult to say who could respect this version of the horrifying events which brought an end to hippiedom. Squeezed unhappily into a little over two hours, those familiar with the case will sneer at the ruthless editing and condensation of the facts and events surrounding the murders. Incredibly, the film comes to an abrupt halt before the trial, hastily summed up in text just before the final credits, even begins! Those only passingly familiar, or unfamiliar, with Manson will simply be left out in the cold by the completely incoherent, fragmented narrative. Luckily, it's loaded with camp value, and there are occasional glimmers of how great this version could have been if they had only pumped up the silliness a few more notches. On the DVD, for instance, there is an outtake of a scene where Susan Atkins breaks into a torrid go-go dance in prison, and you wish she would burst into song, too, so that the whole production would go where it obviously wants to go. Another laughable aspect is the consistent undermining of the various actresses' performances by their ludicrous wigs. Unfortunately, this production doesn't live up to the inherent promise of the source material, either as true crime, or as bad-taste comedy, so I can't give it four stars. Nevertheless, it's wrong-headed enough to be fun, even if all I could think while watching it was how much better it could have been if John Waters had directed it.

Doubtless this will be compared with the 1970s TV movie for most of the feedback on it. Having seen both, the main thoughts that come to mind are that in this version there is more emphasis and clarity on the motives and goals of Manson, as well as what life in the "Family" entailed. A lot of the story is shown through the eyes of Linda Kasabian.

But what really stands out is that unlike in this remake, in the 70's movie the writers had an extremely irritating penchant for 2 characters to have a conversation in a scene, and then one character suddenly starts talking to the camera like a narrator. Thankfully that is gone, and instead of 2 deadpan detectives talking about the crimes that happened, in this version they show what happened.

As anyone who has seen newsreels of the real Manson will attest, the acting of Jeremy Davies as Manson is excellent, even eerily hair raising in some scenes. It would be clear to anyone giving this a fair viewing that Davies has watched a lot of footage of Manson's talking style and mannerisms, and has done his homework quite well.

One drawback in this version is the sudden use of film negatives for 1 or 2 second shots, to try and make the violence look more dramatic, but these efforts usually just marred the scene.

Overall, well worth watching if you haven't seen it, or would like a fresh take on the Tate-LaBianca murders. Certainly better than most of the shallow junk on the tube these days.

A strong start - the pulsating song "Helter Skelter" (by a band who is not The Beatles) over a montage of 1960s images, and then a swift deposit into the home of music teacher Gary Hinman where we are witness to his brutal senseless killing by Family members Bobby Beausoleil and Susan "Sadie" Atkins. Charlie himself shows up in no time wielding the sword that takes off a piece of Gary's ear. To a true crime buff this is gold, getting to see a re-enactment of that which had not been seen before. Then the movie becomes "The Linda Kasabian Story". We meet Linda as she's introduced, young daughter in arms, to the Family and their home, a disheveled old movie ranch, by Family member Gypsy. From that point onward it's as if we see the story through her eyes only; Clea Duvall, impressive as Linda, is in nearly every frame henceforth. By pointedly attempting to defy comparison to the original, this latest adaptation of the book "Helter Skelter" by prosecuting attorney turned author Vincent Bugliosi, invites just that. Comparison. It tries way too hard to be the anti-1974 version by showing us many of the episodes we didn't get to see in the first (Bobby being pulled over by the police for driving a stolen car, Sharon Tate's possible encounter with a trespassing Manson days before the murder) and omits most of what it assumes we've seen before. There is none of the great detective work of Bugliosi. Bruno Kirby (miscast as Bugliosi) doesn't even show up until nearly two hours into the three hour film. At that point the movie just rushes to get it all over with. As Manson, Jeremy Davies, is adequate. He's studied Charlie's mannerisms, that's for sure, but the lack of actual physical resemblance made for a portrayal hard to swallow. The buzz was we'd learn more about Manson this go 'round; we didn't. Speaking of resemblances, other than Clea Duvall's (and her wig is wretched) to the person she plays, there isn't any to be found here. Many of the family girls were redheads. Most notably Squeaky Fromme, who later went on to attempt to assassinate President Ford. She was copper-haired and freckled. Yet here she's played by Mary Lynn Rajskub (of "24") who's blonde and fair complected. And Kitty Lutesinger had a beautiful mane of auburn hair yet the make-up department chose to give the actress who plays her (Cheselka Leigh) a despicable ratty blonde wig (in this day of chemical treatments and hair extensions why the cheap and obvious wigs?). This probably would have been much better had it been longer, perhaps spread out over two nights. A great disservice was done to the story by having it cruise along at top speed and then bottom out in the final act.