I decided to revive this sub-category of movie reviews/discussion for several reasons: I just don’t go to the movie theaters as often due to my need to save money, the theatrical choices remain lame and the Pandemic isn’t really over. With the latter, not enough people are vaccinated thanks to mass-stupidity via Religion, Politics and what’s uniquely Amerikan…willful ignorance is considered a virtue! Covid-19’s latest strain NA 5, I think, may not be as immediately as nasty but it continues to kill people at random. Plus, we continue to have mass gatherings (and I’m guilty of attending a few) so it’s only a matter of time before Covid-19 mutates into a lethal strain.
Enough politics and on to this movie (2018) which flew under the radar before the dark times came…
Charlie Says tells the story of Leslie “Lulu” Van Houten, Patricia “Katie” Krenwinkel and Susan “Sadie” Atkins. How they were under Charlie Manson’s spell before they were incarcerated for life and how prison social worker Karlene Faith undid their brainwashing. The latter just got these women to join the larger prison population, they will never regain their freedom despite Van Houten is only guilty of being accessory. Throughout the women’s sessions with Faith, there are flashbacks of Van Houten’s time at “The Ranch” with the Family (the movie is based upon her experience via Faith’s book). Here you can see Matt Smith amazingly channel Manson’s frightening charisma mixed up with crazy Biblical interpretations, nonsensical rants, gross lust and his frustration at becoming a legitimate songwriter/Pop Star. The real Manson was shorter than average yet Smith being about five inches taller could be used to demonstrate how this crazy person projected a larger presence. During the end credits, you will also see the movie got the rights to perform via Smith singing, actual songs he wrote. Holy crap! Manson may have been sick in the head but he was an adequate tunesmith and performer. Still, it was for the best he didn’t help the Beach Boys or Monkees (can’t remember if the legend of him auditioning for them was legitimate). Regarding the Beach Boys, it appropriately paints a negative picture of Dennis Wilson for coming to the Ranch just to get laid.
Over the years, Faith gets the women to stop repeating what Charlie told them to be true and to start thinking for themselves. This leads the trio to experience remorse for their crimes and racism; remember, the murders were supposed to provoke a race war between Black and White Americans. Sadly, the reforms took its toll on Faith; her husband left during those years and the government thought she was wasting their money. I wish Mrs. Faith lived to see her book transformed into this film too.
Overall, Charlie Says is a good counter to Tarantino’s fictionalized and somewhat glorified portrayal of the Manson Family in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. This movie shows how Manson beat down these women’s psyches in order to brainwash them into heinous acts along with how many enablers missed the warning signs.