Karla (2006)

User Rating:

5.3/10   

Director:

Joel Bender

Writers:

Joel Bender (writer)
Manette Beth Rosen (co-writer)

Release Date:

20 January 2006 (Canada)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

The Barbie and Ken of serial killers.

Plot:

Based on real events, Paul Bernardo (Collins) and his wife, Karla Homolka (Prepon), kidnap, sexually abuse, and murder three young girls.

Plot Keywords:

Rape | Video Camera | Threat | Free Will | Getting Away With Murder

Cast

Laura Prepon	...	Karla Homolka
Misha Collins	...	Paul Bernardo
Patrick Bauchau	...	Dr. Arnold
Emilie Jacobs	...	Debbie
Alex Boyd	...	Nick
Carole Ita White	...	Waitress
Fiona Manners	...	Rape Victim #1
Shawn Hoffman	...	Detective Steve Kirby
Adam Lieberman	...	Detective Morgan
Cherilyn Hayres	...	Tammy Homolka
William Duffy	...	Detective Porter
Tanya Lemelle	...	Rape Victim #2
Tony Shawkat	...	Border Guard #1
Kristen Honey	...	Tina McCarthy (as Kristen Swieconek)
Cole James	...	Tina's Friend

Also Known As:

Deadly (Canada: English title) (pre-release title) (USA) (working title)
Karla (Canada: English title) (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for brutal psychotic violence including murder, rape and spousal abuse, disturbing sexual content and strong language.

Runtime:

USA:99 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Australia:MA | Canada:18A (Ontario) | Canada:16+ (Quebec) | Canada:R (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba) | USA:R | Canada:(Banned) (in cities not permitted by the parents of victims including Guelph)

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Quantum Entertainment

Trivia:

Before they were arrested, the real life Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka legally changed their last name to Teale after Kevin Bacon's character Martin Thiel in Criminal Law (1988).

Goofs:

Factual errors: The 'Toronto Sun' newspaper depicted in the movie is in broadsheet format. The actual 'Toronto Sun' is published in tabloid format. The movie version of the 'Sun' actually more closely resembles the real 'Toronto Star', its competitor, which is published in broadsheet format.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Dr. Arnold: Dear Karla, this is to inform you that after serving 8 years of your 12 year term, you're now eligible for parole. In connection with this eligibility, you are to be transferred to this facility for extended evaluation. After the end of which, it will be my responsibility to recommend for or against parole.

Movie Connections:

References Criminal Law (1988)

Surpringly good acting; toned-down version of sickening events

Paul Bernardo - probably one of the cruellest serial killers that ever existed. Around 50% of the votes cast so far are 1 and this is understandable, as the subject matter in the movie is probably the darkest and most disturbing that any movie could possibly be- and to make matters worse, its all true. There is a relentless hate for this movie and people are going to vote 1 just to try to discourage other from seeing it, to try and teach Hollywood to stay out of producing tragic events, but where were the 1's for other movies profiting off tragedies, like Schindler's List, Titanic or Monster? Before seeing it, I read from others that the acting in the movie was great, I didn't take the comments seriously, but after seeing it, I am totally impressed with Laura Preppon's talent- I never thought of her as a good actor. She IS Karla Homolka, and although she won't win any Oscars for this role, she has undoubtedly impressed many other critics who may have never suspected she had this talent within her. The only major difference between Karla and Laura is that Homolka was a very small woman- 5'2 or so, while Laura is very tall, 5'11. When watching the introducing scene, I had doubts about how good Misha Collins would be, but by the time we reached the first perversion, he turns out to be quite a good actor, although I'd say Preppon definitely gives a better performance. People object to this movie for many reasons, and one is that some believe it's too sympathetic to Karla, but I would disagree. True, it is narrated from real life transcripts that Karla gave to her pscyhiatrist,and many see that as a reason to distrust the movie, but what she tells and what we see are sometimes different and the movie does NOT omit ANY of the evil deeds she committed. However, A LOT of the sadistic things that Paul did were omitted in this brief 81 minute movie- and that is why I called it a 'toned-down' version of the gruesome events, more toned-down that most people would suspect it would be. In this way, the violence is not gratuitous, but there are *surprise!* many cringe-inducing moments. One flaw I see in this movie is the improper allocation of time to various events. The movie covers 90% of the key events, but there was no mention of the videotapes being found, (which completely turned the case upside-down) nor was there any time giving us background information about Bernardo or Holmolka, which we see in other serial killer movies like Monster (we see Aileen as a teenager). I may be wrong, but I think the chronological order between various events may have been shuffled in one case, but probably for editing reasons. I doubt any reviews that IMDb can offer will make a difference in whether one sees it or not, as either you can tolerate watching difficult things or you cannot. However, I agree with CBC's review that is 'an above-average' movie and while being tough to watch, it can also be a tool to reinforce the message that appearances can be deceiving.