No Man of God

By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.8 cats
Director: Amber Sealey
Starring: Aleksa Palladino | Christian Clemenson | Elijah Wood | Luke Kirby | Robert Patrick

Country: united_states

Year: 2021

Running time: 100

IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13507778/reference

Michael says: “I’m not a fan of movies about serial killers, and I have no interest generally, in getting into their heads to see how their minds work. However I was drawn to Amber Sealey’s NO MAN OF GOD, a film focusing on his last years in prison before he was executed, and the relationship he developed with FBI Analyst Bill Hagmaier, because a favorite of mine, Canadian actor Luke Kirby, played Bundy, and I was curious to see how that went. Elijah Wood played Hagmaier. Needless to say I was very pleasantly surprised at this film, which not only featured terrific performances, but was thoughtfully written and directed, to focus nearly exclusively on the two central characters and their relationship, and avoided any glorification of the heinous murders Bundy had committed. Much of the film is set in the interview room where Bundy and Hagmaier conducted their conversations, and many of these conversations played out like a cat & mouse game with each trying to draw the other out to play their hand. As the film progresses, however, you start to sense that some sort of relationship develops between the two, with Hagmaier possibly developing a deeper understanding of a man capable of committing such atrocities not being all that different than many other who never commit a crime, and Bundy developing a respect and even friendship with Hagmaier due to his honesty, and evident curiosity to understand him. It’s to Kirby’s credit that we are never quite sure if Bundy is genuine in this relationship, or if he is a master manipulator to the end. Still with hours to go until his execution, Hagmaier does get what he wanted: an admission from Bundy on many of the unsolved crimes he’d been suspected of.

“Some have criticized the casting of Woods for being too youthful in appearance to play the FBI analyst, but I thought it worked well for the role. His large eye taking in Bundy’s storied, but just as carefully examining the mans every moves. Both actors play it low key, and Bundy’s occasional outbursts seem natural and well-handled. Credit must go to Sealey as well for her use of the female supporting or background characters, for representing, sometimes with just actions, the female point-of-view in this drama. Aleksa Palladino (BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOU’RE DEAD) is strong as the defense attorney representing Bundy for his stay of execution and has a great scene when she explains why she does this to Hagmaier. Other women, such as a production assistant in a recorded interview between a clergyman and Bundy, convey their disgust and horror by simply staring stonily at him, flickers of emotion barely registering across her face while he speaks. Intense, dramatic, and very well handled. 4.5 cats

“Screened at Tribeca Festival 2021”

Vicki says: “I didn’t like this one quite as much as Michael did – and I’ve watched many a serial killer series on television.

“The film is set during the final years of Bundy’s life. Its focus is the conversations hat took place between serial killer, Ted Bundy, and FBI Profiler/Analyst, Bill Hagmaier.  It is an intense cat-and-mouse game to say the least.  Both the crisp script and brilliant performances make the film watchable.

“For me, the constant use of close-ups was really off putting even though I know they were designed to heighten the tension and emphasize the claustrophobic environment. Another criticism is that the idea of getting into a serial killer’s mind is a little old and even the wonderfully nuanced performances couldn’t overcome that for me. 3 cats

“Screened at Tribeca Festival 2021”

Chris says: “Likely the only Ted Bundy film the world needs; by focusing almost exclusively on the psychology, it generally avoids the sensationalism most serial killer films succumb to (even if it can’t help playing into Hollywood tropes like the requisite moment of catharsis or the profiler asking himself, ‘Am I no different from Bundy?’, etc.) Having said that, Luke Kirby is great, Elijah Wood is very good, and although the scenes with just the two of them are the strongest, the supporting cast (particularly Aleksa Palladino as Bundy’s defendant) is well-utilized in adding context and perspective. 4 cats”