Movies
TIFF ’09: Several Clips From ‘Leslie, My Name is Evil’
The countdown to the Toronto International Film Festival is slimming down as the event kicks off this week. One of the many genre films having its World Premiere at the fest is Reginald Harkema’s Leslie, My Name is Evil, which follows the trial of the Manson murders. You saw the trailer last week, now dig on several clips by read on. Click here for all of our TIFF coverage so you can keep up with all of the top indie films coming your way in 2010.“Reginald Harkema’s incendiary new film Leslie, My Name Is Evil (the follow-up to his celebrated 2006 feature Monkey Warfare) focuses on the trial of Charles Manson and his followers, but it’s far from a conventional re-hash of the grisly details. Leslie is a charged, intensely stylized postmodern analysis of one of the key battles in the culture wars that consumed America for much of the sixties.
The ostensible hero is Perry (Gregory Smith), an earnest, sexually desperate young chemist engaged to Dorothy (Kristin Adams), a devout Christian who refuses to sleep with him until they get married. “I love you, but I love Jesus more,” she explains. When he’s called for jury duty on the Manson Family trial, Perry is exposed to a completely different world, one defined by drugs, rock ‘n’ roll and, most importantly, free love. He’s especially taken with Leslie Van Houten (Kristen Hager), who appears to be the least overtly indoctrinated member of the family.
Though the filmmakers adhere to the facts, the film is fundamentally anti-realist, mixing camp, agitprop and the devices of both courtroom dramas and true-crime shows – a combination that makes for numerous moments of fiercely intelligent and spectacularly uncomfortable comedy. The film forces the viewer to confront both the trial’s sordid celebrity aspects and its political-cultural connotations.”
You’ll never watch Jaws the same way again. That’s the promise being made by Jaws Explored, an upcoming deep dive documentary that examines the horror classic like never before.
From CreatorVC and director Ian Nathan, Jaws Explored is said to provide “a new way of looking at Spielberg’s classic that will deliver the deepest analysis of Jaws ever made.”
From the producers of The Thing Expanded and the In Search of Darkness series, Jaws Explored is the first in a brand new deep dive format that bears the “Explored” branding.
Jaws Explored is estimated to become available in August 2027, and the documentary can be pre-ordered now exclusively through the CreatorVC website. Now through August 9, you can secure your Blu-ray, the 80-page companion book, and even get your name in the credits.
The team previews, “You already know the stories: the broken shark; the seasick crew; the movie that almost sank. If you want more, this is for you. Jaws Explored is a new way of looking at Spielberg’s classic that will deliver the deepest analysis ever made. We’re gathering the best voices in cinema and stepping into the film itself to unpack what makes a masterpiece.
“Jaws has some great documentaries already. We’ve seen them and we love them, but we want more. Jaws Explored asks different questions: not what happened on set, but instead examining how and why this film has worked so well, for so long. What is Jaws’ true genius? Why do we keep coming back to it again and again? And what does it tell us about ourselves?”
“Together, we’ll go through Jaws moment by moment, stopping to examine what makes each bit special,” the team behind Jaws Explored promises. “Directors and editors weigh in on the significance of a cut, film historians deliver vital context, while psychologists break down why we’re still afraid, even 51 years and many watches later.”
You can pre-order your copy of Jaws Explored right now.
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