Kalifornia *** (1993, Brad Pitt, Juliette Lewis, David Duchovny, Michelle Forbes) – Classic Movie Review 7513

Director Dominic Sena’s nasty and upsetting 1993 psycho-thriller movie Kalifornia is hopefully the last word on serial killers. Clever though it may be, it is a thoroughly dislikeable and unpleasant piece of work. It turned out, of course, that it was not the last word on serial killers, but that it was just another lurid example of an ever-popular, bad karma genre.

David Duchovny plays a liberal-minded young graduate called Brian Kessler, a journalist researching serial killers who has written a thesis on psychopaths, whom he believes should be rehabilitated. So he and his photographer girlfriend Carrie Laughlin (Michelle Forbes) decide to move to California, documenting famous murder sites along their way in order to produce a book at the end of it. Unfortunately, they need another couple to share the expenses of their ride and take aboard unstable paroled ex-convict and killer Early Grayce (Brad Pitt) and his dim-witted sidekick Adele Corners (Juliette Lewis).

Kalifornia is written by Tim Metcalfe and directed by Dominic Sena with astonishing skill and brio, and, though the set-up is schematic, it is persuasive, with performances to match. Duchovy and Forbes are more credible than the leads but then they have roles that are more easily comprehended. Pitt and Lewis sometimes seem to be blatantly playing at their parts, though that is effective too. Unfortunately all this skill only makes the whole thing more reprehensible and sickening.

Also in the cast are Sierra Pecheur, John Dullaghan, Gregory Mars Martin [aka Mars Callahan], Judson Vaughn, Brett Rice, Bill Crabb, Mary Ann Hagan, Jerry G White and Sarah Sullivan.

Kalifornia is directed by Dominic Sena, runs 118 minutes, is made by PolyGram Filmed Entertainment, Viacom Productions and Propaganda Films, is released by Rank (GB), is written by Tim Metcalfe, based on a story by Tim Metcalfe and Stephen Levy, is shot by Bojan Bazelli, is produced by Steve Golin, Aristides McGarry and Sigurjon Sighvatsson, and is scored by Carter Burwell, with Production Design by Michael White.

It is rated R for strong violence, and for sexuality and strong language. The Unrated Version featured with the R-rated version on the US DVD is a slightly longer, slightly more violent cut.

It was made for a fairly low budget of $9,000,000, but was not a success, grossing only $2,395,000 in the US.

Pitt visited a dentist to have a tooth chipped for the role.

Pitt and Lewis previously co-starred in Too Young to Die? and started dating while shooting it in 1989. They broke up shortly after Kalifornia was released. Dominic Sena did not know Lewis and Pitt were a couple, casting them separately after seeing Lewis in Too Young to Die? and Pitt in Thelma and Louise.

© Derek Winnert 2018 Classic Movie Review 7513

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