Leslie, My Name is Evil

Reginald Harkema’s follow-up to 2006’s Monkey Warfare, Leslie, My Name is Evil essentially details the build-up to Charles Manson’s notorious trial – with a particular emphasis on one of the infamous killer’s sweet-faced disciples (Kristen Hager’s Leslie). The movie also revolves around the coming-of-age of a young juror named Perry, as Gregory Smith steps into the shoes of a deeply religious character who finds his various convictions tested as the trial wears on (with his growing fascination with Leslie effectively coloring his perception of the entire case). Writer/director Harkema has infused Leslie, My Name is Evil with a slow-paced, distinctly low-rent atmosphere that grows increasingly problematic as the movie unfolds, with the inherently intriguing nature of the true-life storyline only able to sustain one’s interest up to a certain point – after which the film slowly but surely succumbs to its oddly detached and downright campy sensibilities. Harkema’s oddly superficial approach certainly proves effective at exacerbating the movie’s various problems, as the filmmaker’s refusal to flesh out the characters and explain their motives (ie what drew these girls into Manson’s “family”?) inevitably preventing the viewer from connecting to the material in a substantive manner. The expected inclusion of overtly avant-garde attributes ultimately adds nothing to the proceedings and in fact contributes heavily to the ongoing atmosphere of inauthenticity, with the periodic emphasis on inexplicable elements (ie what is that cat doing in the cell with the prisoners?) cementing Leslie, My Name is Evil‘s place as a sporadically intriguing yet hopelessly misguided endeavor. (That song playing over the opening credits sure is catchy, though.)

** out of ****