The Murder of Nicole Brown Simpson
THE MURDER OF NICOLE BROWN SIMPSON - SIGNATUREIn 2019 upon the release of The Haunting Of Sharon Tate the common consensus around the feature was that there was no way director Daniel Farrands could make a more technically, creatively and existentially offensive film, even if he tried. In retrospect, the consensus underestimated the capabilities of the 50-year-old director as exceeds all expectations put against him, albeit ironically.
This film or any film in Farrands filmography is neither charming nor technically brilliant. Instead, the amusement comes at the expense of the filmmaker himself, whose amateurish mistakes are on full display. For starters, all the film has to show for creative components are its own offensive vulgarity. Those which — as usual with Farrands — are dead-set on hurting the feelings of the real-life victims and their families. There is not even the most diminutive effort to create a civil discussion regarding its subject matter, as the storyline is presented as the absolute truth and not so subtlety, shames anyone who dares to have a different opinion.
The screenplay follows suit on such dreadful extremities. Added with unrealistic reactions and robotic writing there is not a single line of dialogue between characters that can be even remotely categorized as authentic natural conversations. This offence in the screenplay becomes evident when the viewer notices how the actors themselves carry such lines out on the screen. There is total confusion noticeable on their faces as they — alongside the audience — seem to be trying to make sense of the lines that are being delivered. In a common theatrical feature, the viewer would either scrutinise the actors themselves for not being able to carry out exchanges in a humanistic way or the director for not communicating their vision to their cast correctly, but The Murder Of Nicole Brown Simpson is not a common theatrical feature. It is a Daniel Farrands movie and this is a different game entirely.
Here the audience sympathizes with the actors — which in case of this presentation would be Taryn Manning, who with the NETFLIX original Orange Is The New Black has proven herself to be more than a capable actress, yet here is wasted. The audience is further terrorized by writer Michael Arter who never evolves his script beyond a first draft. The cinematography by Ben Demaree and the music by Michael Gatt are presented with a similar rough edit approach. Not to mention they in themselves have so many inconsistencies not relating to the editing of their presentation, that dissecting them — with no humour intended — would be a more interesting prospect that ever gracing a film made by Daniel Farrands.
Considering all such calamities, it is no surprise that the viewer feels instant regret upon watching the first five minutes of its eighty-two-minutes runtime. An overview — which again — would have been a gross exaggeration for any other feature but here, it is a colloquial reality in director Daniel Farrands’ work.