Dahmer Reviews

Handsomely photographed and well acted, this low-key thriller chronicles the misdeeds of notorious Milwaukee serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer (1960-98), including murder, dismemberment, necrophilia and cannibalism. Though slicker and more conspicuously aestheticized, it recalls the controversial HENRY: PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL KILLER (1989) in its dispassionate recounting of truly awful crimes and its guardedly empathetic (as opposed to sympathetic) stance. The film's title, cribbed from Milton's Paradise Lost, is the key: "The mind is its own place, and in itself/Can make a Heaven of Hell, a Hell of Heaven." Without employing obvious subjective techniques, it looks at the world from Dahmer's distant, damaged perspective, operating within a closed system of destructive desire and warped perception. The film establishes its coolly ghoulish and supremely self-conscious tone from the credits sequence, shots of machinery chewing up and extruding sinister streams of viscous glop — you can't help but assume the worst. It's no real relief to recognize candy-factory machinery spitting out chocolate Santas, once you realize that's Dahmer (Jeremy Renner) moving sugary St. Nick's down the line. The film slips and slides back and forth in time, from Dahmer's present day (1991) prowling to his teen years, pausing at various points in between and focussing on three pivotal murders. Writer/director David Jacobson fictionalizes the victims while retaining the essence of their encounters with Dahmer: "Lance" (Matthew Newton) recalls Steven Hicks, victim zero, whom Dahmer impulsively killed and dismembered while still a teenager himself; "Khamtay" (Dion Basco) suggests Laotian teenager Konerak Sinthasomphone, Dahmer's most notorious victim (left unattended in Dahmer's house of horrors, the youngster wandered onto the street, drugged and naked, only to be returned to his tormenter by police); and "Rodney" (Artel Kayaru) draws heavily on Dahmer's final target, Tracy Edwards, the one who got away. Dahmer's long night of drinking, talking and horseplay with Rodney is the film's centerpiece, and many of its flashbacks digress from it, including several scenes involving Dahmer's loving but conservative father, Lionel (Bruce Davison). Ultimately, the film feels a little pointless; if it means only to remind us that every monster comes from somewhere, that's a well-worn observation. But Renner's performance as Dahmer is unimpeachable, fascinating without being charismatic, and Kayaru's Rodney is a marvel of complicated characterization under difficult circumstances. Within the confines of a single extended scene, frequently disrupted by flashbacks, Kayaru subtly evokes an entire history for Rodney, one that suggests both how he came to this unfortunate place and where he finds the wherewithal to escape.