Product: To Die For (1995)
Rating: 4.0
A strangely brutal film
"To Die For" is a mean-spirited little film and one that left something of a bitter taste in my mouth. Nearly all of the characters are painted with a very broad brush, and are made to look absurd and ugly for their stupidity, spitefulness and vanity. Such harsh characterizations may seem surprising coming from a director like van Sant, whose other films generally display a strong empathy and compassion for the wide range of humanity (see: "Drugstore Cowboy", "My Own Private Idaho", "Paranoid Park".)Of course, it all becomes clear as the film progresses that the film is, in fact, a satire on a shallow celebrity- and media-obsessed culture. That is, such pathetic, shallow characters (and the subsequent bitter aftertaste) serve as a condemnation of a culture of headlines and breaking news and journalistic "investigations" in which small, humanizing details and character traits are lost so that the audience make a quick, untroubled about whether the subject is good or bad, malicious or benevolent. All subtlety is lost, and thus much of what makes us human.I don't know if I'll return to this film (it is just a little too brutal for my tastes), but I'm glad I saw it.