Charlie Says

"Charlie Says" is ultimately a white wash of the horror committed by the Manson Family--it features the roles of the females in two of our nation's most gruesome and horrifying slaughter of completely innocent people to date which no one will forget--least of all the victims' families.

The true facts of the atrocities committed by the Manson Family (including the three women featured in this movie) and historical events are either omitted or not nearly accurate in the movie--the facts and events have been tweaked, whitewashed, slanted to tilt the viewers' feelings towards sympathy for the three Manson women rather than towards legitimately earned feelings of horror, shock, and disgust for the heinous murders they committed.

The movie shows Charlie Manson as the leader of these misfit women of the Manson Family supposedly by using mind control but this was not clearly shown as the women did have freedom and were free to leave. So, the power of mind control theme in the movie falls apart here. One is left to think that these women of the Manson Family went from a herd mentality of sociopaths to psychopathic murderers willingly--just following the herd.

The movie is not great, by a long shot.

This film tells the story of three women who are jailed for murdering strangers.

Instead of drilling the details of the murder, the plot concentrates on the brain washing done by Charles Manson and its devastating effects on the women. The result is an engaging story of how the women get to the brainwashed state, which most people will struggle to understand.

This movie shows a side of the story that hasn't been depicted before. That is enough to appreciate the premise.

Charles Manson was a very sexist and racist man. He used, manipulated, and brainwashed both young women AND men who he could tell were naive and vulnerable.

Anyone who has thoroughly researched the Manson family will know the women were treated worse than in this film. One disturbing example is they weren't allowed to eat until after the dogs. Feminism was really at it's zenith in the late 60s. Representing feminism in the film is realistic to the time period.

These women would have never murdered had they not crossed paths with Charles Manson. Of that, there is no doubt in my mind. Many people were living in communes at the time. The members of "The Family" ended up in the wrong one, not knowing what lay ahead, not knowing they were being groomed by a sadistic madman.

This movie isn't excellent, but it does not deserve a 5.6. Voting it down because you don't like feminism is a very very sad point of view.

6.5/10

Based on the novel 'The Family' by Ed Sanders, this is one of three films in which Charles Manson featured in 2018, and a film about the Moors Murders would complete a trilogy by director Mary Harron beginning with 'I Shot Andy Warhol' depicting women provoked into irrational violence by an unwarranted infatuation with a weird control freak (Brady and Manson both had in common with their idol Adolf Hitler that they possessed the egotism and disdain for convention of great creative geniuses but not the actual creativity).

There's a surprising amount of God talk by Manson and his coven, and for once the current fashion for swaying steadicam photography suits the lack of balance shown by this unholy trinity of impressionable young ladies.

"Charlie Says" (2018 release; 101 min.) brings the story of the Charles Manson murders, but this time for the perspective of the three "Manson women" involved in the killings. As the movie opens, one of the women is taking a shower, the blood coming off of her hair and body. We then go the "3 Years Later", and we see the three women in jail at the California Institution for Women, on a separated wing with just the three of them: Lulu, Sadie and Katie. A graduate student at UC Santa Cruz is given the opportunity to teach these three some classes. When then go back in time, to when Leslie (later named Lulu by Manson) arrives at the remote ranch where Mason and his entourage live... At this point we are 10 min. into the movie, but to tell you more of the plot would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.

Couple of comments: this is the latest from Canadian director Mary Herron, who previously brought us the worthwhile "I Shot Andy Warhol" and, even better, "American Psycho". Here she revisits the events that are often referred to as "having ended the 60s" (the murders took place in August, 1969). The film is based on several books, including the one written by the graduate student on specifically Leslie/Lulu, but there are certainly additional source materials on the Manson women. Indeed the eternal question seems to be: are these women victims themselves? are they just part of the gang that committed these vicious killings? The movie attempts to address that, and while at times it shows promise, in the end the movie lacks depth and what we are stuck with is something that certainly isn't a bad movie, but given the underlying facts, it feels more like a missed opportunity. Leslie/Lulu is played with conviction by up-and-coming British actress Hannah Murray. Manson is played by Matt Smith as if he's Jim Morrison (check out Smith instead in that other recent indie movie "Mapplethorpe"). Beware: there is a fair amount of nudity in the film, so if that is a concern for you, better stay away and check out another film.

"Charlie Says" premiered at last Fall's Venice film festival to ho-hum reaction, and is now getting a limited US theater release. It opened at my local art-house theater here in Cincinnati this weekend for just a one week run. The early Sunday evening screening where I saw this at was attended so-so (7 or 8 people). Maybe this will find a larger audience as it is launched on other platforms. If you have any interest in the Manson murders, and in particular the women that were involved in it, I suggest you check this out, be it in the theater (unlikely), on VOD, or eventually on DVD/Blu-ray, and draw your own conclusion.