Kalifornia - Unrated (1993) ***1/2

Dominic Sena had directed many music videos for popular artists like Janet Jackson, Richard Marx, and Sting before making his 1993 feature film debut, the serial killer road thriller Kalifornia, a box office bomb that has gone on to have a certain cult following. I think that I saw the film in its theatrical run but my memory is fuzzy. I know that I definitely watched it on VHS, and possibly DVD, and—if so on the latter—that was the last time I had viewed it.

The movie holds up well. Brad Pitt and Juliette Lewis are perfect embodiments of their characters—Pitt, unhinged and frightening but also hilarious, and Lewis, sad and sweet but impossibly endearing in her dimwittedness. There's a certain grungy, exploitative quality to this noir-tinged story but also a tangible emotional weight and some really handsome-looking cinematography by Bojan Bazelli. 

Kalifornia suffers at times from David Duchovny's trite voice-over and somewhat bland performance, and just the slightest bit from Pitt's very over the top (though very entertaining) acting. Michelle Forbes' is the most nuanced (and perhaps most realistic) portrayal. All in all, this is enjoyable picture with solid replay value for those that can appreciate its tone and style.

Recommended for fans of Natural Born Killers (1994) (review), Wild At Heart (1990) (review), The Night Of The Hunter (1955), and True Romance (1993) (review).