Hill plays a journalist interviewing a murderer during his trial played by Franco. Vague exchanges take place while the two main characters apparently become friends. At some point the movie ends, without a point and without any real story or a hint of subplot.Apart from it not having a story to tell, The films sports a most terrible script uttered by totally uninteresting characters in scenes that are systemically too long. None of the characters are believable, ruining the film's main plot point. Especially Hill's character makes zero sense. You can't be an investigative reporter and then be that naive. A friendship emerging from such shallow, boring and fake conversations, is also not credible. And what was the character of the wife even doing in this movie? She seemed to be his sister at first. Recommended viewing speed: 4X

I have wanted to see this film for a while and I have finally had the chance to see it and I thought it was great. The premise of the film sees a disgraced journalist get in touch with a criminal using his name to understand him. Jonah hill is a great comedic actor but he puts on a fantastic dramatic performance in this film. I saw a completely different side to him in this film as this damaged guy truly owns the screen in this whole film. James franco plays the criminal in this film and he does a great job in this film. He plays a twisted character and you never really know where he is coming from because he is such a deep conflicted character. Felicity jones plays hills wife in the film and she does a good job in this film with some powerful scenes. Everybody else in the film does a good job helping make this feel like a real situation. The story of the situation between hill and franco is really interesting and it builds into an uncomfortable situation. The script has some great drama that builds between these two characters to high levels. But I do feel like this film could have maybe done with a bit more humour to lighten the mood at times. The style of the film is very intense and it keeps you engaged. However, the pacing of the film is pretty slow especially for the first half an hour that slows the film down. I think this is a great intense film that if you like dramas you should see.

Michael Finkel's writing, is its own force. The adventures and people leaching through the glossy pages, a complicated writing process used to make it seem like each sentence was written in a few seconds. Consequentially, many critics become confused between the novel by Finkel, the events as the media retells it, and this film. When looking at the screen alone, and blocking out knowledge of the real events, a raw journey into the definition of "truth" appears through the dazzle of famous faces.A gamble no-doubt, casting two heavyweight comedy actors into such a narrow-scoped thriller. But one that has paid off, with the on-screen characteristics of Jonah Hill and James Franco balancing against each other - portrayed as two sides of the same lying coin. A murderer and his journalist, both fallen from grace, both deceptive and both battling for redemption.What a fitting backdrop to such an unsettling theme - brisk, baron, beaches around the state of New York. Gorgeous camera-work, with sunsets bouncing off the eerie-still water, and dripping through the lens, a feature which struck a chord at Sundance, but could not penetrate the multiplexes. Ignore the panning of the critical steamroller, take a step and choose your side.

There's No Denying the Truth, that this is an Unnerving Story. A Real-Life Wife and Child Murder Case where Christian Longo is Arrested and put on Trial for the Grisly and Sensational Crimes.The Film Maintains an Eerie Atmosphere of Ambiguity and Anguish in the form of a Disgraced Journalist (Jonah Hill) named Mike Finkle and the Accused Longo (James Franco). Longo uses the Name of the Reporter as a Fake Identity and Therein lies the Plot. Finkle Sensing a Rebound in the form of a "True Story" Story, Decides to Meet with the Prisoner in Prison.The Over-Familiarity of James Franco on Screen is once again a Hindrance to Accepting Him as Anyone but James Franco. So Playing a Complex Character who may be a Psycho-Socio Cold Blooded Killer who may or may not be Telling the Truth, is a Challenge for the Audience to Separate the Goofy Franco and buy Him as Christian Longo.Clarity is Never a Thing in This Thing and while a Certain Amount of Mystery is Required it Ends Up being a Muddle at Times. There are Moments of Uncertainty that Intrigue but the Movie Never Lets Up on the Unknown ever Being Truly Known until the Ending Scroll.The Film is Better in Parts than the Whole and it is Worth a Watch but Ultimately, Most Likely, will be a Frustrating Experience. It's too Short and Shallow to be much more than a Quick Fix Guilty Pleasure for True Crime Junkies and Fans of Lurid B-Movies.