Watching Dahmer, even if you happen to be the one or two people in America who don't know that much about him aside from being a serial killer (as I was), I felt like something is missing. I wasn't sure if it was something in Jeffrey Dahmer's past, as the filmmaker did more than enough to emphasize that aspect of his past crimes (though whether or not he was insane from childhood or from around that mannequin incident is questionable at best), but whenever we got closer to the real dark side of Dahmer's nature, of his insecurity and homosexuality, it kind of pulled back into another plot line or something that just felt 'off'. It's not that the subtle care to Dahmer is unappreciated. It's a welcome change from past serial killer movies.
But looking up what Dahmer really did, and what he was really like, this movie didn't fully get into the potential areas of interest of who this guy was, or who people could think he was. Instead we get this tale of morbid insecurity, of a man who frequented a gay bar drugging his rape victims, and had one of his significant kills (a 'chop-up' kind of story) after he was turned down for sex. There's a hint of the really bizarre with the mannequin that appears. And there's some family repression as seen by Jeffrey's father (Bruce Davison). It's not that there is a lack of information, but it's the presentation. After hearing about what happened with that final not-quite victim (the one in the film seen as the gay black guy Dahmer brings back and gets drunk with), one would hope such an outrageous and oddly human scene could make it's way in.
Instead we get a director who is into some effective artistic choices and other times some meandering scenes with less-than-stellar music choices. Oh, there is one very good thing going on though in the film, one that makes it worth seeing, and that's Jeremy Renner. It's hard to see who else could play Dahmer with such a chill in his voice but a human need to connect with others, somehow, even in his warped and awful way of doing it. We're meant to understand him, if not of course sympathize with him, and Renner makes this more than just a possibility. He's electric and intense when he needs to be- those eyes are piercing- but he's also tender and careful with the way he moves in a room or around another guy, or how he has Dahmer contemplating a piece of flesh like the Asian guy he brings home drugs. If nothing else, you can see a great actor working at a high point of his powers. he deserves a Dahmer film that shows how flawed and damaged he was, but that something else the film can't quite get to.
But looking up what Dahmer really did, and what he was really like, this movie didn't fully get into the potential areas of interest of who this guy was, or who people could think he was. Instead we get this tale of morbid insecurity, of a man who frequented a gay bar drugging his rape victims, and had one of his significant kills (a 'chop-up' kind of story) after he was turned down for sex. There's a hint of the really bizarre with the mannequin that appears. And there's some family repression as seen by Jeffrey's father (Bruce Davison). It's not that there is a lack of information, but it's the presentation. After hearing about what happened with that final not-quite victim (the one in the film seen as the gay black guy Dahmer brings back and gets drunk with), one would hope such an outrageous and oddly human scene could make it's way in.
Instead we get a director who is into some effective artistic choices and other times some meandering scenes with less-than-stellar music choices. Oh, there is one very good thing going on though in the film, one that makes it worth seeing, and that's Jeremy Renner. It's hard to see who else could play Dahmer with such a chill in his voice but a human need to connect with others, somehow, even in his warped and awful way of doing it. We're meant to understand him, if not of course sympathize with him, and Renner makes this more than just a possibility. He's electric and intense when he needs to be- those eyes are piercing- but he's also tender and careful with the way he moves in a room or around another guy, or how he has Dahmer contemplating a piece of flesh like the Asian guy he brings home drugs. If nothing else, you can see a great actor working at a high point of his powers. he deserves a Dahmer film that shows how flawed and damaged he was, but that something else the film can't quite get to.