Synopsis:
“Closure is bullshit...The ramifications of murder go on and on and on and they spread outward like a metastasising fucking tumour and it never ends.” So says James Ellroy who, it is safe to say, is very far from closure. The still-unsolved murder of his mother when he was 10 years old has shaped his life and gruesome career. He is one of America’s foremost crime writers, as well as a bitter, blunt-spoken, highly intelligent orator. Jayanti’s masterful documentary for Arena shines a light on the dark forces continuing to drive Ellroy, including the fact that he happened to despise his mother at the time she was killed. At the core of the film are two feasts where Ellroy, his LA cop buddies and Nick Nolte muse over murder, in particular the famous Black Dahlia case - its similarities to the murder of Ellroy’s mother remain one of his grizzly obsessions. We are also treated to a particularly foul-mouthed book reading by Ellroy, as well as some very funny advice to grandmothers who have the temerity to admit they have seen LA Confidential but haven’t read the book.
Festivals
Sheffield Doc Fest 2006
Synopsis:
“Closure is bullshit...The ramifications of murder go on and on and on and they spread outward like a metastasising fucking tumour and it never ends.” So says James Ellroy who, it is safe to say, is very far from closure. The still-unsolved murder of his mother when he was 10 years old has shaped his life and gruesome career. He is one of America’s foremost crime writers, as well as a bitter, blunt-spoken, highly intelligent orator. Jayanti’s masterful documentary for Arena shines a light on the dark forces continuing to drive Ellroy, including the fact that he happened to despise his mother at the time she was killed. At the core of the film are two feasts where Ellroy, his LA cop buddies and Nick Nolte muse over murder, in particular the famous Black Dahlia case - its similarities to the murder of Ellroy’s mother remain one of his grizzly obsessions. We are also treated to a particularly foul-mouthed book reading by Ellroy, as well as some very funny advice to grandmothers who have the temerity to admit they have seen LA Confidential but haven’t read the book.