Why did Leonard Kastle make only one movie?When so many "directors" are allowed to release mediocrities by the dozen,when almost every thriller looks like the one before?
I saw "the honeymoon killers" at the beginning of the seventies in a "art et essai" movie theater (in France,"art et essai" means non -commercial and artistical works).The movie had little impact on the "mainstream" audience ,and the TV was afraid to broadcast it.
Thirty years later,it still packs a real wallop:it has worn extremely well,even better than praised classics such as "gun crazy" and "Bonnie and Clyde".I'm sure it had a strong influence on Francis Girod's "le trio infernal"(1974)."The honeymoon killers" is unique,a work of the first order.Hats off to the two leads ,Shirley Stoler and Tony LoBianco ;their casting was ideal.Had the producers hired two stars,the movie would have lost in credibility.Because,credible,this movie is,and not because it is a true story:for instance "Bonnie and Clyde" is also a true story,but the characters are icons,some kind of Robin Hoods,far from their models.Don't get me wrong,I love Penn's movie,but Kastle's is a different matter:this director-scenarist shows the couple "au naturel".We've already met Martha somewhere:she's the fat nurse, par excellence the outcast,deprived of the thrill of it all,particularly seduction and love.Her behavior,as horrifying it may be,makes sense.The whole movie depicts her pursuit of happiness.She's full of hatred,jealousy and her contempt for these ugly ,old and frivolous women is so intense it's almost unbearable.She hates them because their money can buy anything and most of them used to be wooed,something she has never known and never will.
This is one of the most ambitious side of the screenplay:taking a subject Alfred Hitchcock partially treated in "shadow of a doubt" (1942),it pushes it to its absolute limits:all these old biddies in their" pigpen" (as Joseph Cotten's uncle Charlie said),acting as if they are twenty-something and still dreaming of Prince Charming are so hateful the audience almost sides with Martha and her partner.
Ray is a very complex character:it's a gigolo,but in several respects ,he's still a child.Martha is at once his lover,his mother and his "sister" (they are as like as two peas in a pod ,one character says,echoing the "gun crazy " heroes,as like as two bullets in a revolver).Martha seems the leader,Ray acting more as an instrument. As their crimes become more and more appalling,sexual desire is increasing."I want to make love" Ray says,after having killed Fay.
Humor (most of the time black) is constant and some of the lines are hilarious.But the last crime is so horrible it leaves the audience completely in despair.And ending the movie with a romantic love letter is a product of pure provocation.
Although by no means a violent movie (particularly when compared to today's standards),it's definitely one of the most terrifying works of American cinema.A must .
