How fragile does your ego have to be that you decide a serial killer stealing your identity is flattery? Gotta say, I’m fond of True Story right off the bat for portraying an Identity Thief as a cold-blooded killer rather than a lost sheep. The former seems much closer to reality for me. But the questions still remain – why was accused murderer Christian Longo (James Franco) impersonating Mike Finkel (Jonah Hill) and why did Mike Finkel himself not distance himself from the accused? He in fact does exactly the opposite – he befriends and collaborates with the very probable sociopath.
Mike Finkel is a fallen-from-grace journalist. Intoxicated by the story, he embellishes the life of a teen laborer to make his tenth New York Times Sunday Magazine cover. If you read The Times, you know this is a big deal; the unique Sunday covers help distinguish which crossword puzzle you haven’t finished yet. Based on a True Story, it’s hard to know if the movie soft-peddles Mike’s crimes – he’s canned for making an amalgam out of a set of kids who serve the same task master; that doesn’t sound so awful to me. My guess is the real Mike actually did fabricate rather than consolidate.
And speaking of liars, Christian Longo did horrible things to his family members, then skipped town under the name “Mike Finkel.” Fascinated and secretly flattered, the real Mike Finkel – lacking for anything else to do—travels to the federal prison in Oregon to visit Christian Longo. And before long-o, these two are making playdates and sending love letters. Well, creepy love letters; Christian tends to doodle death. But that’s ok, Mike makes similar margin doodles! Hey, you’re both big liars who like to write and are kinda insecure. Oh, how sweet, you’ve found a BFF.
Mike, of course, doesn’t quite know what to make of this. I mean, there isn’t a handy pamphlet entitled, “so your kindred spirit is a murdering psychopath …” I should add here that True Story presents a half-hearted case for Christian’s innocence, but nobody buys it, including Christian.
What really goes on the True Story is a revamp 
of Starling-Lecter relationship from Silence of the Lambs, but one where the stratification is blurred. There is a cat-and-mouse game going on here, but we’re not certain it isn’t cat-and-cat. The game is much better than the plot, which seems absurdly one-dimensional upon revisit.
True Story is a good film. It could have been a great film, but gets tripped up by the flimsy plot and the familiarity of the players. We know James Franco. We know Jonah Hill. It’s hard for either to sell us on these men who so closely resemble slightly skewed versions of their normal selves. James Franco’s sociopathology comes off as devil-may-care rather than a true interest in havoc. Perhaps I’ve just seen him too often. I’m immediately drawn to the scenes in This Is the End where the house full of idiot actors planning future projects while the rapture is happening. Do you think Franco and Hill discussed this one privately in-between takes of This Is the End? What, fellas, didn’t want Danny McBride or Jay Baruchel showing up in your “real life” crime drama? Awwww.
♪People let me tell you ’bout my best friend,
He’s a cold-blooded serpent who will get me in the end
People let me tell you ’bout my best friend,
Packed his fam in the luggage set and tossed ‘em in ocean.
People let me tell you ’bout him he’s so psycho
He called up my collect, just to steal the show
Cause he’s my best friend.
I’ve chosen poorly♫
Rated R, 100 Minutes
D: Rupert Goold
W: Rupert Goold & David Kajganich
Genre: Sociopathic kinship
Type of person most likely to enjoy this film: Hannibal Lecter
Type of person least likely to enjoy this film: Housewives
♪ Parody inspired by “Best Friend”
