MovieChat Forums > True Story (2015) Discussion > I kept waiting for a mind blowing plot t...

I kept waiting for a mind blowing plot twist...

posted 9 years ago by andrew31413
25 replies | jump to latest

I was pleasantly surprised with Franco and Hill together in roles that deviated from what they were most known for together. It's not the best acting I've ever seen, but I enjoyed the contrast of roles I was used to seeing them in. My only problem is that I kept waiting for some kind of plot twist that never came and felt unsatisfied at the end. I kept thinking some how the 2 characters were connected in some way with the way they made them seem like they "knew each other." Or maybe the wife had something to do with it with the way she kept looking at the pictures and drawing on the wall, and the phone call. I just felt there was no climax to the story and it just dragged on till the very end.

[–] ZzFDKzZ 9 years ago

It's based on a true story...

[–] seans_life 9 years ago

It's based on a true story...

Just like ZzFDKzZ stated it was about a true story and the director/writer/etc. decided to stick with the facts. Now yes there are some movies based on true stories where they don't do that and quite frankly I find that annoying.

[–] imdb-16754 9 years ago

Nah, shackling movies to the true story almost always chokes off the spark that would make for a great movie. Biopics are the most unsatisfying this way because they have to hit so many of the famous person's iconic events that a great film can never truly take shape. This movie is good: I'd have expected a higher IMDb score of maybe 7.1-7.3, but it's definitely lacking what would make it an 8. I had that same feeling of dragging and never quite getting to the twist that would top the thing off.

That special feeling of being a true story only comes at the end, with the credits, and maybe helps with the movie's promotion, I suppose, but in the end who cares except the people for whom the story is true. Filmmakers should just give up the true story fetish, make movies, change the names, and perhaps add a "based on true events" at the end. Afterward, geeks can get on the internet and compare to the facts. Ever see Fargo?

[–] indyj1 9 years ago

Right, heaven forbid an actual true tale be told lest it lack all the hyperbole and completely fictitious but much more entertaining storytelling. Who wants to see anything that is factual?

Maybe you should just go watch some Transformers films again.

[–] mjz688 9 years ago

That "Transformers" jab has really lost its punch. Give it up. Not everyone who disagrees with you is a Michael Bay fan.

Anyway, he's right about biopics. Many of them come across more like documentaries than tightly plotted dramatic films, and for exactly the reasons he gives.

That said, I liked "True Stoty." Although it adhered (mostly) to the facts, I found it to be well-made and very engrossing.

[–] imdb-16754 9 years ago

And another way to think of it is that there's really no such thing as a true tale that adheres to the facts. It's filmmaking and storytelling so that they're only ever presenting a stylized version of a selected edition of the facts. You only get two hours on screen, and the rest is in your mind. Documentaries are fine but still limited; you need a book to be fair to a true story. If it's not a documentary, go for cinematic impact above all, which doesn't have to mean crossing into the fantastic. The fiction can even end up truer to the feel and basics of the true story than the true story.

[–] SausagePourVous 9 years ago

There sort of was a plot twist...an unusually retarded and lazy script solution. In the beginning of the third act,that law man approaches Finkel and says"Longo is a criminal mastermind,he´s up to something. He´s trying to confuse the jury."

Then Longo takes the stand(in a pretty good scene)decribing how his wife was the killer etc....fast forward,the judge says"Despite the overwhelming evidence against you,you tried to blame your wife." Dumbasses....that´s not how you construct a tense,clever cat ´n mouse game! You don´t keep your audience in the dark on such a basic level,that´s not good writing,it just made Longo look really pathetic,dumb and pretty far from a mastermind,completely ruining the potential the build-up had.

[–] maryum1986-149-898505 9 years ago

Because it is based on a true story , any twist wouldn't of made sense
I liked the film though

[–] p_horan 9 years ago

"wouldn't of." *gag*

[–] evangello_cyedel 9 years ago

No it does not dragged at all, watched it again and list some points, you'll find out who killed the two siblings that Chris plead not guilty.

[–] TejasNair 9 years ago

Care to elaborate? Thanks.

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[–] with_blackstars 9 years ago

Agree very much, I watched this movie with much anticipation and was sort of expecting something really good! I was beyond disappointing and had to actually say "what the *beep* out loud after it finished. I just couldn't believe how bad it was, I further said, "man, this was just so fuc**ing stupid!"
Yeah, alright it was based on a true story but Jesus, there was actually nothing interesting, that a killer used a journalist's name? That's it? Dude, come on...there are hundreds of true stories laying around with so much content, and they choose this?
You keep waiting for some major plot twist and NADA! ZILCH! NOTHING! ZERO! *beep* NOTHING!
Don't waste your time on this guys!

"Personally speaking I can't wait to watch life tear you apart."[Evelyn(Nicole Kidman)-Stoker]

[–] 9 years ago

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[–] Heero14 9 years ago

Yeah.. I just finished watching it. There was indeed nothing interesting.

I'm not necessarily mad that there was no plot twist. It's just that the story itself is really boring; it's not worth talking about. I feel like this movie was trying to tackle so many different things but didn't even try to finish one of them. Watching this is definitely a waste of time.

[–] Irivia 9 years ago

I was thinking the same about the twist.It really pointed some twist with the wife Jill,she looked that she knew something more.
The movie was a little bit disappointing.

[–] filmfancy 9 years ago

I was thinking the same about the twist.It really pointed some twist with the wife Jill,she looked that she knew something more.

The only thing that Jill knew was that Longo was a manipulative killer. She saw the truth more clearly than Finkel, perhaps she was more perceptive than him. The filmmakers could have made her role more interesting but chose to shroud her in mystery and then have that scene where she confronts Longo in prison. It didn't really work (although the reference to the classical composer who killed his family was interesting) because it comes out of left field. Up until then Jill is a pretty laid-back character then she suddenly becomes fearless and confronts Longo.

And all the pieces matter (The Wire)

[–] 9 years ago

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[–] aak447 9 years ago

It was SO BORING. The only credit I give it is the artistic direction, some shots were very beautifully portrayed. But the repetitive settings got really boring, and I also felt the red herrings about the wife.

I wanted to try and figure out a lot more than the movie laid out for us.

[–] morphinapg-1 9 years ago

Yeah I kept thinking maybe Christian and Jill were having an affair (or maybe even a second wife) and she was the killer or something. It would explain who he was "covering" for, since he had become friends with Mike, and didn't want to hurt him by throwing Jill under the bus. It would also explain why Christian chose Mike's name and why he said his wife had left him for a reporter, and yeah it would also explain her concern over whether Mike thought Christian was guilty or not, and why she was looking at the photos and all that.

Honestly that would have been a more interesting movie. But as soon as she got the call, I was fairly certain I was wrong.

I didn't know whether this was actually based on a true story or whether that was just the title when I was watching this, so forgive my creative mind.