Manson: My Name is Evil (2009/Lionsgate DVD)
Picture:
C- Sound: C Extras: D Feature: C+
Charles Mason, a name forever associated with the death and murders of the
American people in its heartland. A
young American boy, Perry serves on jury duty in the Mason case. As he watches the various female 'Mason'
family members give their testimonies, he can only wonder are they so very
different than him? As the trail drags
on he struggles with his own moral conscience and his social duty as a fellow
American... can they be redeemed, or are they truly evil and deserve to die? This is what Manson: My Name Is Evil asks.
It was the 1960s, the Summer of Love, in a time of war it was everyone's
American duty to be patriotic, but there those who believed society was only
following a military minded social system and refused, they believed the
American way was 'wrong'. Young chemist
Perry is caught up in these changing times, while he was never part of that
culture, he had sympathy for those who didn't agree with draft or war,
mainly the various 'hippies' of the 60s and was intrigued by their free
love culture. While serving on jury duty
he could not refrain wondering about a sensual female member of the
Mason family, pretty, young, and looks like she could be the girl next
door, what could cause her to murder a complete strangers she never
knew?
Based on historical events, this movie oddly does not focus on Charles Mason as
much as the minor characters. Leslie a
young girl is adopted into the Mason family, she is attracted to the ideal of
releasing her inhibitions and being angry about society. Meanwhile the character Perry, a young male is
sexually frustrated and finds himself attracted to Leslie and wonders if
ideas of 'free love' is so bad. As the
case continues, he continues to watch her and he has second thoughts on
his own religious convictions and his own fiancé. While both of them doesn't realize, but each
one of them is a representation of an individual influenced/brainwashed by
society, social pressure, and people they are close to... and there is a thin
line between normal and crazy.
- Ricky Chiang
