True Story (2015)

Cast : Jonah Hill, James Franco, Felicity Jones, Gretchen Mol etc

Plot and Storyline:

True Story is the American Mystery thriller directed by Rupert Goold, Remade from the memoir - "True Story " by Michael Finkle. It is the story about  Michael Finkel ( Jonah Hill) , an ambitious reporter for the New York times, Having done many covers for the magazine, Michael leads a happy life away from his wife- Jill( Felicity Jones) in New York, During an assignment in Africa, he is blamed of publishing wrong information in the New York Times, He looses his job because of this and returns home to his wife in Montana.

At the same time parallel story runs, Christian Longo ( James Franco) gets arrested in Mexico for homicide of his wife and three children. Upon getting arrested he gives his identity as Michael Finkel to the police. Michael gets investigated by the Police and is intrigued by Christian's behaviour. He meets with Longo in prison and finds a good opportunity of a story which can give a comeback to him in his career. The rest of the film follows the incidents in Michael and Longo's life and Did Longo kill his family is the big question.

James Franco's character in the film is of Mysterious , often unpredictable killer. He tries to convince Michael of his innocence and traps him in the end. I could say he is very intelligent. He draws similarities between Michael and Himself so much so that Michael starts believe that they are one in common. Its quite refreshing to see James Franco portray such a character after doing so many comic roles. though there is nothing very extraordinary in his performance, it is really convincing.  Till the very end of the movie Longo never accepts that he has committed the murder till the end not directly though, One of the  decent portrayal of a serial killer i suppose.

Jonah Hill plays an ambitious journalist, He gets caught in Longo lies and starts writing a memoir about Longo and makes do with whatever he has about Longo. Trying to erase the bad reputation in the industry he tries to finish the memoir as soon as possible with his own prediction and belief in Longo that he did not kill his family. He is once again cheated when Longo Pleads guilty to the jury. Jonah Hill convinces us with this performance  when he is helpless and feels cheated after hearing the truth. Again not a very difficult characterisation to pull off but a commendable one.

Felicity Jones portrayal of Jill is also worth a mention, Though she comes a short span in the movie. She is the one with clarity in the film, She seems to find out the true nature of Longo and gives him a piece of her mind. That scene is worth watching in the film.Longo leaves a lasting impression on him even though the book becomes a hit and he becomes an established writer, He is haunted by Longo again and again.

Verdict:

Its quite different to see Jonah Hill and James Franco in such serious roles sans laughter. The background score and Cinematography are very crisp and well suited to the story line.
True Story is a very decent crime thriller. Worth watching once for James and Jonah.