NATURAL BORN KILLERS

US, 1994, 119 minutes, Colour.
Woody Harrelson, Juliet Lewis, Robert Downey Jr, Tommy Lee Jones, Ashley Judd, Tom Sizemore, Rodney Dangerfield, Rachel Ticotin, Arliss Howard, Denis Leary, Steven Wright, Pruitt Taylor Vince.
Directed by Oliver Stone.

There has been considerable discussion about Natural Born Killers. It is not a film that one would recommend. In fact, many audiences may find that they cannot sit through it. But it tackles a current issue: violence and the media.

First, it would be noted that it is a film by Oliver Stone, a director who has won awards (for Platoon and Born on the 4th July), raised controversy (JFK) and tackled current issues (Wall Street). Stone is not subtle. He prefers full frontal attack and communicates how he feels.

Obviously, the American preoccupation with violence, the TV glamorising of serial killers or celebrity killers irritate and frustrate Stone so he has targeted them. Satire is black humour that is not to everyone's taste.

Satirists are also perfectionists who seem to expect the world and people to be perfect and savagely attack when this is not so. But Stoner has the tendency to rub his audience's noses in the ugliness and seems to indulge in what he attacks.

Natural Born Killers is also geared to younger audiences and older audiences will find it frustrating. Stone uses a complex MTV (Music Television) style, with rapid pace and editing. It is like watching video clips with hand held camera, black and white and colour, animation, sitcom parody, for two solid hours.

Woody Harrelson and Juliet Lewis are the viciously carefree killers (whether natural born or influenced by society). Robert Downey Jr (with odd Australian accent) is the exploitative interviewer who becomes involved in the mayhem.

1. The reputation of the film? Condemnations? Defences? Awards? Its immediate impact? Long-term impact? The work of Oliver Stone, his succession of films, his satiric standpoint? His condemnations? The criticism of his self-indulgent style to make his points?

2. The importance of style: the structure of the screenplay (and its basis in the work of Quentin Tarantino)? The structure and the pieces of a mosaic? The linear description of the plot? The insertion of flashbacks? The portrait of Mickey and Mallory and their career? Elaborating the background of the family? The succession and range of the murders? Their being caught? The jail experience? The media contacts? Their escape, the final confrontation with Gale? The fast-forward to their final freedom? The quality of the plot outline and its insight into its characters, their context?

3. The importance of the visual and sound style? MTV, the presumptions about audience attention spans? The audience being bombarded with a range of images? The psychological effect of such a range of imagery? The naturalism and the ordinariness of the plot? The video clip style? The contrast between black and white and colour photography? Hand-held camera work? The sitcom history of the family? The style of the talk shows? The news and the style of the television news? The animated sequences? The use of pace in editing, angles and shots? The pace? The response of under-40s, brought up on this kind of style? The response to the film of older generations brought up on more classic styles?

4. The musical score, the range of songs, the contribution of Leonard Cohen? The songs and their thematic relevance? The sound imagery? Music and style, instruments, beat? The social comment of the songs?

5. The title of the film? How true that people are natural born killers? Innate drives? Character? People influenced by society and pressures? Nature or nurture? The theories underlying the film, the points of view of the variety of characters supporting nature or nurture?

6. Woody Harrelson and Juliet Lewis and their performances? Their appearance, accents, talking style? The introduction to their characters? Their backgrounds, love for each other? The initial confrontation, the beginning of the spree? The credibility of their violent outbursts? The nature of their weapons, the use of the weapons? Cars, their driving, the American countryside and road movies? The cafes, the decisions of who was to die (eeny meenie minie mo)? Deliberate or mindless? The ergic drives? Sexual? Violent? Standing overlooking the dam, the ceremony, the blood, the bonding, Mallory's veil? What was the nature of the bond between the two? Who took the initiative? Their urging each other on? Dependency?

7. The impact of the flashbacks, the situation, the style, Rodney Dangerfield as the father and the background of his comic style? The inept mother? Kevin? The vulgarity, the abuse? Mickey's arrival? The parents' reaction? Going out and the comedy of parents and their treatment of children? The suddenness of the killing and the brutality? The audience making judgments on the parents and their behaviour, inept parenting? Deserving to be killed? The recurring images of the death throughout the film?

8. The character of Jack Scagnetti? His personality, background, type? In pursuit of the criminals? His employers, his tactics? His attitude towards Mallory? The obsession? The pursuit, the capture? The celebration? His going to Mallory in the prison, the sexual attack? His being shot? The film's comment on law enforcement officers, the nature of the law, personal obsessions, abuse? The film indicating that he deserved to die - or not?

9. The picture of the police, the background of movies about the American police, behaviour, pursuit of criminals, guns? Tough and rough? The guards in the prison? The collapse into shooting and mayhem?

10. Tommy Lee Jones as the warden? His frenzied acting style? His role in the prison, doing his job? His relationship with the officials, with the wardens? His handling of the media? Permissions - and his self-advancement? The TV program? His reaction to Wayne Gale? The ultimate build-up to the riot in the prison, the energy of the riot scenes, his running, the danger - a frantic man?

11. The satire on current affairs media and the invasion of privacy, the sensationalising of crime? Wayne Gale and Robert Downey Jr's style? The Australian background and accent? The program of American Maniacs? Gale and his palaver, personality, insincerity, ratings? His relationship with the different members of his staff? His presentation of media sincerity? His interviewing style, the arrangements for the prison, the interviews and the questions, his reaction to Mickey's and Mallory's replies? Moving with the flow of the mayhem, the riot, his escape? His lacking all values - and the reaction of his staff? Getting out with Mickey and Mallory, the final confrontation?

12. Mickey and Mallory with Gale, their talk, revelations about themselves, plain style, amoral and moral? The escape, taking him into the countryside, his awareness that he was to be executed? His pleading? Their shooting him on camera? The film indicating that he deserved to die - or not?

13. The range of victims? The men taunting Mallory in the cafe? The gas station attendant and the sexual encounter and Mallory's dissatisfaction? The death of the Indian - by mistake and Mallory's regret? The parents? The people in the prison? Gale and his staff?

14. American mayhem, the maelstrom of an apocalyptic vision of amorality, violence, everything consumed by fire? The style of American apocalyptic in literature and film?

15. The survival of Mickey and Mallory? Why? The effect of the experiences on them? Their wedding, settling into nuclear family life in middle America? The comment on the United States through the film - the family and the eruption of violence, moral and amoral stances, the role of authorities, the police, prisons? The destructive invasion of privacy by the media? The future of American society?

16. The anger of Oliver Stone in making such a film? Quentin Tarantino's background of portraying violence - but with cool verbalisation and wit? Combination of the cool and hot anger of Stone? Can this kind of violence be satisfactorily satirised? Is Oliver Stone and equivalent of Wayne Gale? The up-front extroverted American style? The American tradition of action, violence and heroism? The audience and vicarious suffering and vicarious violence and the overall effect? Commentators have referred to Natural Born Killers as a dangerous film. True or not?