With this sinister introduction, Memories of a Murderer introduces us to the man on the tape, a Scot who led a seemingly humdrum existence as an employment office worker bee until the revelation of his shocking crimes. “Well,” the voice continues, “we’ve all gotta die of something, haven’t we?”
#MEMORIES OF A MURDERER SERIAL#
We are ruining our health- s-s-s…” It’s the voice of Dennis Nilsen, a serial killer convicted of six murders in London between 19 and serving a life sentence. “I sit here smoking a Scaferlati Roll-Up Cigarette,” and there’s an audible cough. The Gist: An analog tape recorder in close-up, the spinning Memorex and advancing time counter. MEMORIES OF A MURDERER: THE NILSEN TAPES: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT? With access to jailhouse audio recordings made by the serial killer himself, it explores the cultural climate of early 1980s London, where Dennis Nilsen was discovered to have murdered up to 15 young men over a period of years.
Those who were enraptured by Parasite will likely fall under the same spell when they watch Memories of Murder.Netflix adds another documentary to its teeming true crime catalog with Memories of a Murderer: The Nilsen Tapes. It’s not an easy movie, but it’s captivating and compelling from start to finish. It plays with the same themes of Bong’s other films while still providing a unique and darkly fascinating perspective on how flawed we all are, and in our attempt to create order we only sow more chaos not because we’re “bad” or “evil” but because we’re human. The world offers us chaos and we need to impose order to live our lives Memories of Murder shows what happens when the universe rejects that desire.īong is a master of his craft, and Memories of Murder is one of his best movies in a career filled with outstanding work. With terrific performances from his cast, Bong garners sympathy from cops who are the textbook definition of corrupt, but we understand where they’re coming from because they think that if they can just catch the killer they can stop the killing regardless if the suspect is guilty or not. He doesn’t exploit the crimes (which were based on real serial murders), and even when there’s a loathsome behavior he doesn’t revile or discard his characters. In Memories of Murder, we see how justice is an illusion no matter how great or ill our intent, and attempts to impose order only create more chaos.Īs always, Bong’s craftsmanship is impeccable, and you can see why he’s been one of the 21st century’s greatest filmmakers.
#MEMORIES OF A MURDERER MOVIE#
You can see this pattern emerge across Bong’s filmography, and you can clearly see it in his 2003 movie Memories of Murder, which will be re-released into theaters this week before arriving on VOD later this month. We know what we want, but our desires will always be out of reach because of the damage in our humanity. It’s not as simple as “people are bad, so society is bad,” but rather than we are so deeply flawed as individuals that the systems we create can only reflect those flaws. There are times when he comes perilously close and may even slightly stumble (hi, Okja), but for the most part, he excels at crafting compelling, complicated characters to show our complicity in the systems we rely on for a society that fails all of us. What makes Bong Joon Ho one of our greatest filmmakers is that he’s unafraid to make damning indictments of society without ever coming off as preachy.
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