"Karla" centers around a young Canadian couple who meet and very quickly fall in love with each other: Paul Bernardo (Misha Collins) and Karla Homolka (Laura Prepon, of TV's "That '70s Show"). Unfortunately, Paul is mentally unstable, and finds pleasure in raping and sexually abusing women - something Karla wasn't aware of in the beginning. It begins on Christmas Eve when Karla and Paul end up accidentally killing Karla's younger sister while trying to make a sex video. While she is disturbed by the entire thing, she is still desperate for love (which she believes she has truly found), so Karla goes along with her husband's insatiable hunger for sexual violence and power, and takes part in it as well, as he kidnaps young women, makes sex tapes with them, tortures them, and ultimately murders them.
Based on the real-life murders that occurred back in the early '90s, I found this true-crime flick a fairly disturbing film. I had read a little about the real crimes that happened before, finding that Homolka and Bernardo have been labeled Canada's most notorious murderers. While I know the basic details of the case, I'm still not all too familiar with the real Karla's involvement in the murders. In the film she is depicted as an abused woman, weakened by her husband's manipulative and violent personality. In fear of him, she does as he says, even if that means participating in horrific acts. The main reason she is seen as guilty in the murders is because of her "lack of empathy for the victims", and this is clearly shown throughout the film. The problem that I had here though is that I was confused as to how this film was trying to portray her - was it attempting to tell us that Karla was simply an abused, beaten-down person who was coaxed into these crimes? Or was she mentally unstable as well, and participated in the crimes by her own free will? To me it appeared the film was sympathetic towards her, but that's how I interpreted it. Whatever the real events may have consisted of, the storyline revolving around her character is fairly well constructed, whether it is fictionalized in the real Karla's favor or not. Good writing is present, and the story is told from Karla's point of view as she retells the events to a parole officer in hopes of making her way out of prison into the real world.
The acting in the film was surprisingly good. Laura Prepon, who gained her fame playing the friendly red-headed girl-next-door in the television sitcom "That '70s Show", makes a large departure from her comedy roots, in a powerhouse performance as an extremely dark, and obscure character. She plays the character surprisingly well, and anyone who is immune to seeing her as the spunky, good-hearted Donna on "That '70s Show" will be quite surprised with this disturbing performance she delivers. The audience can sympathize with her to a certain extent (which is sometimes almost fully). Again, I am not sure if the real Karla was as innocent as the film portrays her. In the film however, she seems relatively normal, and clearly not as mad as her husband. Her neglect for human life though (and her passive following of her husband) is a sure sign of mental illness. Misha Collins is menacing as well as her abusive and murderous husband - he's a scary guy. The violence in the film is mostly implicated and not shown, but it's just as equally effective - the abuse and torture endured by these innocent girls is awful, and stomach churning when projected on screen. I can't imagine what the real victims endured, and in respect I'd like to send out my condolences to the families of the real victims.
Overall, "Karla" is a disturbing film. Regardless of the real Karla Homolka's innocence or guilt in the actual crimes, this is still a really good crime film that holds itself up well. If you go into see this movie, expect a disturbing and uneasy experience. The story is fairly well told (even if the real facts may be distorted or changed for storytelling purposes), and it is an interesting film to watch, plus there are really good performances to be found. One thing I can say for sure is that it is much better than most of the straight-to-video true crime junk that you can find at your video store. 7/10.
Based on the real-life murders that occurred back in the early '90s, I found this true-crime flick a fairly disturbing film. I had read a little about the real crimes that happened before, finding that Homolka and Bernardo have been labeled Canada's most notorious murderers. While I know the basic details of the case, I'm still not all too familiar with the real Karla's involvement in the murders. In the film she is depicted as an abused woman, weakened by her husband's manipulative and violent personality. In fear of him, she does as he says, even if that means participating in horrific acts. The main reason she is seen as guilty in the murders is because of her "lack of empathy for the victims", and this is clearly shown throughout the film. The problem that I had here though is that I was confused as to how this film was trying to portray her - was it attempting to tell us that Karla was simply an abused, beaten-down person who was coaxed into these crimes? Or was she mentally unstable as well, and participated in the crimes by her own free will? To me it appeared the film was sympathetic towards her, but that's how I interpreted it. Whatever the real events may have consisted of, the storyline revolving around her character is fairly well constructed, whether it is fictionalized in the real Karla's favor or not. Good writing is present, and the story is told from Karla's point of view as she retells the events to a parole officer in hopes of making her way out of prison into the real world.
The acting in the film was surprisingly good. Laura Prepon, who gained her fame playing the friendly red-headed girl-next-door in the television sitcom "That '70s Show", makes a large departure from her comedy roots, in a powerhouse performance as an extremely dark, and obscure character. She plays the character surprisingly well, and anyone who is immune to seeing her as the spunky, good-hearted Donna on "That '70s Show" will be quite surprised with this disturbing performance she delivers. The audience can sympathize with her to a certain extent (which is sometimes almost fully). Again, I am not sure if the real Karla was as innocent as the film portrays her. In the film however, she seems relatively normal, and clearly not as mad as her husband. Her neglect for human life though (and her passive following of her husband) is a sure sign of mental illness. Misha Collins is menacing as well as her abusive and murderous husband - he's a scary guy. The violence in the film is mostly implicated and not shown, but it's just as equally effective - the abuse and torture endured by these innocent girls is awful, and stomach churning when projected on screen. I can't imagine what the real victims endured, and in respect I'd like to send out my condolences to the families of the real victims.
Overall, "Karla" is a disturbing film. Regardless of the real Karla Homolka's innocence or guilt in the actual crimes, this is still a really good crime film that holds itself up well. If you go into see this movie, expect a disturbing and uneasy experience. The story is fairly well told (even if the real facts may be distorted or changed for storytelling purposes), and it is an interesting film to watch, plus there are really good performances to be found. One thing I can say for sure is that it is much better than most of the straight-to-video true crime junk that you can find at your video store. 7/10.