Swoon

Despite the arthouse trappings of the filmmaking, it is still engaging as it sees Leopold and Loeb honestly.

Despite the arthouse trappings of the filmmaking, it is still engaging as it sees Leopold and Loeb honestly.

Couldn't make it past 4 minutes. Awful. Seems like a parody of an art film. You want to watch a movie about the Leopold and Loeb case watch Rope or Compulsion. Wish I could get my $3 back from Amazon.

Moody, dispassionate take on the savagery of crime that neither illuminates nor captivates.

Moody, dispassionate take on the savagery of crime that neither illuminates nor captivates.

The case has been made into two previous movies - Alfred Hitchcock's "Rope" (1948) and Richard Fleisher's "Compulsion" (1959), but both to one degree or another played down the topic of homosexuality. This new version by writer-director Tom Kalin plays it up, sometimes in ways that are fairly disturbing, as when he seems to linger on the ways the dominant Loeb was able to control the more submissive Leopold by using sex as a weapon.

very interesting take on new queer cinema that emerged during the early 90's... for a movie from 1992, it really holds a good sense of detail and intrigue

The true crime movie has become fashionable in recent years, with "In Cold Blood" a particularly hyped example. This first movie from Tom Kalin, often seen as a leading proponent of the 1990s "new Queer Cinema" is perhaps the best of the genre I have seen and something of a relief - I had seen his most recent film, "Savage Grace" and found it to be shallow and pretentious. I don't tend to be a fan of films shot in black and white for the artistic sake of it, but again, had my preferences subverted. The explicit nature of the two protagonists' relationship works well in that we usually expect monochrome settings to be accompanied by monochrome storylines. Egged on by the psychopathic Dick, the relatively benign Nathan is ultimately unable to control his love and goes along with a crime which he had had no intention of committing and had precious little involvement in. The filming is full of clever touches and the shockingly homophobic atmosphere of public opinion is vividly depicted - although we have little sympathy for the murderers.

pretty good remake of the story. love the photography. and the two guys are really great in their roles.

Doesn't really achieve the goals it sets out to. The period never convinces, the relationships never feel genuine or well developed and it does not really warrant its place in the Indie film Canon. It should however be credited for its ambition and attempt at creating something different and interesting.