Child of God Lester Ballard, always kisses on a first date.
Greetings Crimeziners. Can we interest you in a little violence and sexual deviance? It is the weekend after all—
Now, we know you are fans of serial-sicko Cormac McCarthy, who’s anatomically correct slabs of stomach churning darkness are the nouveau craze du jour in Hollyweird. No doubt you have already seen No Country For Old Men, The Road and star-studded enigma The Counsellor but you ain’t, as they say, seen nothing yet.
Enter Academy Award winner and pulchritudinous polymath James Franco. Now Jimbo, as many will know, has been trying for years and without a great deal of success, to make a movie out of Cormac McCarthy classic Blood Meridian. To date this hasn’t happened, so young Jimbo has upped the ante and is about to unleash another McCarthy based movie Child of God starring Scott Haze and Tim Blake Nelson. Oh goody, we hear you cry, an uplifting religious work—what is it about exactly?
Well, necrophilia mostly and serial murder figures heavily too. Imagine if you will Sevier County Tennessee in the not so swinging sixties. For it is here we find wild eyed protagonist Lester Ballard, a man cast very much in the Ed Gein mold. Now, young Lester, as you might expect is every bit the outsider. After finding a couple dead in a car wreck, the delightful young charmer falls head over heels in love with the deceased. And much kissy-kissy ensues.
Unfortunately for our hero his “first love” is consumed by fire, so he sets to work creating more corpses he can “fall in love” with. Unfortunately for Lester, too much is never enough and the cycle of cruelty, moral degradation, and isolation forces him into the barbaric existence of a cave dwelling savage.
Now, this delightful movie has already been released to much acclaim at the Venice Film Festival, but Crimezine is sad to report that this cinematic gem will not reach American cinemas in time for Valentines day.
For the more literary minded amongst you Child of God the novel, which first appeared in 1973, is a cult classic that scorns literary conventions in a similar way that it tackles social and moral conventions. As for the movie—watch out for cross burning protestors and switch out the king-size popcorn for a super-size barf bag.
Crimezine 