Kalifornia (Dominic Sena – 1993) B+

At first glance, this seems more superficial than it is. The plot appears to paint with very broad brush strokes. We got the yuppy couple, one a writer fascinated by serial killers and his girlfriend is a photographer. They need to drive to California and they put up an ad asking for road trip companion(s) who are willing to share the cost. Enter the white trash couple who answer the ad and of course one of them is…a serial killer. However, the movie is deeper than just that, it deals with these four characters as individuals as opposed to cliches. It forces the writer to face what he is so fascinated with and see how evil it can be from up close. At certain points in the film I really was not sure if our writer, played by David Duchovny, is tough enough to resist the temptation to join Early the psycho. I have to give a huge nod to Brad Pitt in his performance here as Early the smart, but sadistic killer. This really is one of his best performances.