Karla (2006) Reviews

• Karla is one sided.

  slbarnett-687-3831092010-03-16

  This movie seemed to try to make the view feel compassion for sorrow for Karla but she showed none to her victims. She and her husband should have been given the death penalty. I don't understand how she could be out of prison and I don't understand how a movie could be made to show any compassion for her. She deserves none! This is another case of a film trying to gain sympathy for the killer and none for the victims or the victim's families. Prepon did an awesome job portraying Karla Holumka. I was ready to feel sorry for her until I read more about her true character. The movie should have shown more of her real self instead of the innocent victim portrayed in the movie Karla. This was a frightening movie because of the truth of it and because of the truth left out of it.

• Surpringly good acting; toned-down version of sickening events

  Fargoisgreatmovie2006-01-27

  Paul Bernardo - probably one of the cruellest serial killers that ever existed. Around 50% of the votes cast so far are 1 and this is understandable, as the subject matter in the movie is probably the darkest and most disturbing that any movie could possibly be- and to make matters worse, its all true. There is a relentless hate for this movie and people are going to vote 1 just to try to discourage other from seeing it, to try and teach Hollywood to stay out of producing tragic events, but where were the 1's for other movies profiting off tragedies, like Schindler's List, Titanic or Monster? Before seeing it, I read from others that the acting in the movie was great, I didn't take the comments seriously, but after seeing it, I am totally impressed with Laura Preppon's talent- I never thought of her as a good actor. She IS Karla Homolka, and although she won't win any Oscars for this role, she has undoubtedly impressed many other critics who may have never suspected she had this talent within her. The only major difference between Karla and Laura is that Homolka was a very small woman- 5'2 or so, while Laura is very tall, 5'11. When watching the introducing scene, I had doubts about how good Misha Collins would be, but by the time we reached the first perversion, he turns out to be quite a good actor, although I'd say Preppon definitely gives a better performance. People object to this movie for many reasons, and one is that some believe it's too sympathetic to Karla, but I would disagree. True, it is narrated from real life transcripts that Karla gave to her pscyhiatrist,and many see that as a reason to distrust the movie, but what she tells and what we see are sometimes different and the movie does NOT omit ANY of the evil deeds she committed. However, A LOT of the sadistic things that Paul did were omitted in this brief 81 minute movie- and that is why I called it a 'toned-down' version of the gruesome events, more toned-down that most people would suspect it would be. In this way, the violence is not gratuitous, but there are *surprise!* many cringe-inducing moments. One flaw I see in this movie is the improper allocation of time to various events. The movie covers 90% of the key events, but there was no mention of the videotapes being found, (which completely turned the case upside-down) nor was there any time giving us background information about Bernardo or Holmolka, which we see in other serial killer movies like Monster (we see Aileen as a teenager). I may be wrong, but I think the chronological order between various events may have been shuffled in one case, but probably for editing reasons. I doubt any reviews that IMDb can offer will make a difference in whether one sees it or not, as either you can tolerate watching difficult things or you cannot. However, I agree with CBC's review that is 'an above-average' movie and while being tough to watch, it can also be a tool to reinforce the message that appearances can be deceiving.

• A difficult film to watch...

  Onthethreshold2007-10-23

  Being Canadian and the fact this film isn't widely available up here I feel compelled to offer some comment on what many consider a tragic story exploited for financial gain to no end. Those of us that lived this story back in the early 1990's and the subsequent trial of Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka can attest to the degree of disgust many felt at the crimes these two committed. The film is accurate in many respects as to details of the story, but make no mistake that the details were far more sadistic and brutal than what has been portrayed in this movie. At least to those of us that have read the transcripts of the videotapes that Bernardo took of his victims, and one can hardly blame the director from omitting those details or forcing an actor to play such a role out. My only beef with this movie however is that it does attempt to paint a picture of Karla Homolka being just as much a victim here as Bernardo, and although no one can deny she was under his influence and subject to this violent outbursts, to suggest she had no control over this situation and simply tagged along for the ride is to suggest that she was just as much a victim of Bernardo as the two murder victims. Those versed in this case know much better and the role she may have played in the death of Kristen French (aka Kaitlyn Ross) is something we'll likely never know as there are those that suggest she was directly responsible for killing the second victim. The acting in this film is nothing notable, but given the nature of the roles played here it's wonder they found anyone to play these two to begin with. Because of the difficult subject matter I'll let the mediocre acting pass because for it to be much better would almost be like saying the actors immersed themselves perhaps a little too much in characters that most would find revolting and if not downright sickening. In the final analysis, 'Karla' is a film you'll only watch once and personally I don't think this was necessarily ever meant to be a movie for mass consumption either at the theatre or your local videostore. That being said, Canadians should have the right to see this movie for those so inclined vs. having the state tell us what is suitable or unsuitable for our viewing pleasure as there are movies out on the market FAR more disturbing about real life events than this flick could ever hope to be.

• An Inaccurate and Poorly Produced Film

  wolfgangviking2007-06-02

  Having lived and followed this case in Toronto, I am disappointed with this film which is both inaccurate and dull. What is a film supposed to do? Inform? Entertain? This film does neither; the case of Karla Homolka and her accomplice, Paul Bernardo, is a fascinating series of events that exposed the incompetence of the provincial police and justice system. For years Bernardo raped and killed without coming close to being caught. The only reason he was finally charged for the murders was due to Karla's testimony and that came at the price of a plea bargain that infuriated a normally subdued nation. The film decides to focus instead on the misplaced suggestion that Karla, as an abused spouse, was compelled to participate in the torture and murders. How this can be plausible stretches the imagination considering she appeared to enjoy herself in the videos (entered into evidence) and then continued this behaviour for years and with 3 different girls. There is a reason why no one in Canada would touch this film; the nation sympathizes with the victims' families and the reasons for making this film remain dubious. American Psycho (based on a book that allegedly inspired these acts) is a fictional account that made a social commentary on the yuppie decadence of the 80s with Christian Bale giving a strong performance. This film says nothing of importance on perhaps the most notorious case in that nation's history. As far as entertainment, well, you have to be careful, these are true events and must be handled differently – one must be responsible, otherwise it comes across as simply cheap exploitation. As far as the technical aspects, it is a poorly produced work with lower standards than a regular HBO offering; Director Joel Bender captures nothing of the horror that this home must have been as a place of torture and death day after day. The acting by Laura Prepon is simply uninteresting, if not absent; through the latter part of the film she is almost like a zombie resigned to her life. I want to know what she was thinking when she was in the washroom doing her hair and make up speaking in a friendly manner with the victim that she had just kidnapped and assaulted. But, alas, this scene does not appear in the film. It would have been an interesting character study. A scene from the court transcripts that does make it to the screen is the moment that one of the victims finally defies Bernardo and fights back refusing to acquiesce to his demands. "There are some things worth dying for", she says and then, according to the court testimony, she is murdered. However, the film depicts her as actually retracting her courageous statement. A despicable artistic license that insults the victim. This is a film that should be viewed as a cautionary tale of how not to make films.

• Disturbed

  dajeckyl2007-07-29

  I was very disturbed to see some of the comments made about this movie. It was said that "the murder and gratuitous violence scenes were not explicit or even realistic"! They were plenty explicit and realistic, enough that I almost stopped the movie. Also, it has to be understood why Canadians did not support this movie. The victims in this movie were children victims, of a smallish, "quiet calm" community, and they were the children of this community. Imagine if this happened to your next door neighbours child, or YOUR child, and then someone wants to make a movie about it! You would be infuriated! I lived in Welland, Ontario when these people were on the loose. I was 12 years old, and my parents were paranoid nervous wrecks until these people were arrested. The day they were arrested, we did not have any classes, they parked us in front of the TV's to watch the news, and so we would have peace of mind that these evil sickos were off the street, and we were safe from them. They terrorized the communities, even the ones that we have no knowledge of them being in, they were close enough to us, that it was very possible that one of the victims could have been one of my friends, they were just too close to us. So, when you complain that this movie was not real enough, or explicit enough, just remember, it not JUST a movie, it was real life! And what you see in the movie is not even the half of all the horrible things they REALLY did.