"True Story" from 2015 stars Jonah Hill and James Franco as writer Mike Finkel and killer Christian Longo, respectively.
Finkel was a well-regarded journalist for the New York Times who fudged a story and combined five people into one, was caught, and was fired.
He learns later that a man who murdered his wife and three children, Christian Longo, was caught in Mexico and was at the time using the name Mike Finkel. Intrigued, Finkel arranges a meeting.
What follows is a bonding experience, where Longo claims to be a long-time fan of Finkel, and Finkel finds similarities between his own life and is impressed that he and Finkel even take similar types of notes. Longo asks that none of the information he gives Finkel be released until after the trial and promises him exclusivity. In exchange, Longo would like to learn to write the way that Finkel can and asks for pointers.
Finkel begins to believe that Longo is covering someone and doubts his guilt. He also realizes that the story is more than article -
it's a book.
It's not until the trial that Finkel learns the true story.
Good film about an actual case, but while it's effective, it doesn't have the bone-chilling quality it could have. The acting is good, particularly by Franco who has the showier role. The acting is done in a naturalistic style - a tiny bit more punch in a film like this might have helped as it lacks some necessary emotion.
I think a stronger script or even more potent direction could have made this a truly devastating experience. As it is, it's interesting without being fascinating.
