True Deception – ABC Film Challenge – Female Directors – P (Pamela Romanowsky) – True Deception Movie Review
Director: Pamela Romanowsky
Writer: Pamela Romanowsky, Stephen Elliott (Screenplay)
Cast
- James Franco (This is the End)
- Ed Harris (The Rock)
- Amber Heard (Aquaman)
- Christian Slater (Alone in the Dark)
- Timothee Chalamet (Call Me By Your Name)
Plot: Elliot, a troubled former successful writer decides to write about a missing wife and the following murder trial of her husband.
Runtime: 1 Hour 27 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: True Deception starts as author Stephen Elliott (Franco) becomes obsessed with a murder trial of Hans Reiser (Slater). He has been struggling to find motivation for his latest book, which is what he saw in this case.
However, Stephen’s own past comes back to haunt him when his estranged father Neil (Harris) claims his books are a fraud. As Stephen looks to find a story, he continues his downward spiral into addiction.
Verdict on True Deception
True Deception is a thriller following a struggling author looking for fresh motivation. This sees him getting obsessed with a criminal case that reminds him of his own troubled childhood.
The movie gives us a story based on an author that made something for himself out of a personal story he saw through his own eyes. It looks to focus on his own self-destruction and what he needs to fix going forward. The story doesn’t feel like it does enough to keep us connected. There is no mystery about the case and by the end of the story, it is all about an author’s own problems.
Final Thoughts – True Deception is a flat thriller that never gets as interesting as it could.