Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile

Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile

Starring Zac Efron, Lily Collins, Kaya Scodelario, John Malkovich
Directed by Joe Berlinger

The Story:
In 1969, single mother Liz Kendall (Lily Collins) meets Ted Bundy (Zac Efron) at a bar, and the two hit it off right away.  They begin a relationship together, and Ted is like a father to Liz's daughter Molly, and as their relationship blossoms and grows, news about murdered women begin being televised.  When one of the women survive, she points out Ted as the man who almost killed her, and he's sent to trial.  Liz stands by him, even as he escapes custody and news of more murders becomes apparent.  Ted is apprehended again, and Liz begins to have her doubts as she stumbles into alcoholism and depression as Ted vows to fight the legal system and prove his innocence.

The Synopsis:
What goes on in the mind of a killer?  Documentaries, movies, and biographies have tried to answer that question, but there's no easy answer.  What is it about them that makes them snap and do the most heinous, unspeakable things to other human beings?  What "Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile" tries to answer is...nothing.  It doesn't give any new insight into Ted Bundy's motives or means, and it doesn't try to humanize the monster who confessed to killing thirty women (although there's probably more) - instead, it gives a dizzying account of Bundy's life in a way that at first seemed like a glossed-over Wikipedia entry, but as the film progresses we find that this glossing-over motif was what director Joe Berlinger had in mind the whole time.  He didn't set out to show us why Bundy did what he did, or even how he did it - instead, the film shows how truly mysterious, manipulative, and downright psychopathic Bundy was in the most unnerving way possible.

The film was based off Liz Kendall's memoir, and the film does a decent job at telling her side of the story - or rather her side of Ted Bundy.  When we meet Ted through Liz's eyes, he's the perfect man: he's accepting of her young daughter, doesn't push for sex on the first date, and even cooks breakfast for her and her daughter in the morning.  We know what kind of monster he is, but Liz doesn't, and we see him through her rose-colored glasses.  Even as there's news reports about murdered women, the film doesn't flash to Bundy's vile nature to juxtapose his good-guy persona for Liz, but instead we receive a blank slate when it comes to his crimes.  We never see him commit the murders or act in any sort of violent way, which only adds to the mystique of the man.

Zac Efron has definitely shed his good-boy Disney typecast roles and has really sunk his teeth into challenging, demanding, and downright transformational work.  This is easily his best performance, as he really transforms himself into Bundy both inside and out - ironically, Bundy was a very good-looking man, and even though people questioned Efron's casting choice because he's also good-looking, it actually fit well.  Yet more than an outward beauty, Efron had to dig deep to expose the true ugliness of Bundy, which he does in every scene he's in.  He was a manipulative, maniacal sociopath, and used his natural charm and charisma to make his way through life, and Efron performs to that level as well.  It was unnerving to see him play Bundy on screen in such a manner, and wonder how in the world anyone could've fallen for his charms in the first place.

This introduces an interesting concept in regards to not just Bundy's charisma and good looks, but other men of the same ilk.  During his trial (which was the first televised trial), the courtroom was filled with women who believed he was innocent - or wanted to think that - strictly because he was good looking and charming.  For a man who brutally (and I mean brutally) killed women, it's interesting that he received such a female following despite that fact, only because of his looks.  Even today, killers like Christopher Watts - who killed his wife, unborn child, and two children - receive love letters from women all over the country.  Dzhokhar Tsarnaev - who, along with his brother, was responsible for the Boston Marathon bombing - not only received the superstar treatment of a Rolling Stone cover, but has also received numerous fan letters from women, many of whom believing he had nothing to do with it because he's too cute to do anything like that.  It's fascinating that there's people out there who judge people on their outer looks, concluding that people who are pretty can't possibly be responsible for ugly things, and it's something that I won't understand.

Back to the film - I love how it intentionally never reveals Bundy's true motives, but instead portrays him as a blank slate, a man void of a conscience but yet seemingly has true feelings for Liz, despite impregnating former flame Carole Anne Boone (who stood by Bundy in ways like I mentioned earlier with other women, while Liz disappeared in a world of booze and self-loathing) and, well, being a depraved serial killer of women.  It makes Ted Bundy all the more frightening in that he plays off his charisma so well, and really knows how to work a room.  The trial itself seemed like a farce, as he constantly interrupted proceedings and used the energy in the room to his benefit, and it seemed that he really thought he was going to get away with it.

While the film has some great supporting cast members, the film is Zac Efron's alone, and he commands the screen in a very unique way.  He's not a hero, he's not someone you root for, but he's someone you can't look away from.  It's disarming and dangerous, and easily Efron's best work to date.  Likewise, Lily Collins does a great job playing Liz as a woman torn by her own demons as well - she tortured herself for not seeing Ted for the monster he was, and there's a truly breathtaking moment between the two in the final moments of the film that's some of the best acting I've seen in awhile.

At first, it seemed that the film wanted to be more of a documentary than a movie, but that was just the smokescreen to shield us from what was to come - an unnerving look at the most soulless man in America, who himself seemed to be a blank slate of emotion who tried to lie, cheat, and use his natural talents to evade justice, but in the end discovered that there are some things you can't escape from.

The Summary:
Zac Efron gives his finest performance, which is ironic because he plays the most wicked, evil, and vile person in American history, but does so using his natural charm and charisma to tell the story of Ted Bundy in an unflinching, dangerous way.

The Score: A