It is not very often that a Canadian movie finds itself embroiled in a storm of controversy but that is precisely what happened in this telling of the crimes committed by Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka. The movie came out shortly after Homolka's release from prison and tells the story of Homolka and her twisted husband. While obviously attempting to remain unbiased, it still manages to allow an audience to emphasize with a clearly disturbed young woman.

Laura Prepon (Donna from That 70's Show) stars as Karla, whom we meet in a prison where she is being interviewed for a parole hearing. She begins to tell her tale of how she met her husband, Paul, and how things spun out of control and her extracurricular activities came to include sexual depravity and murder. These events are told through flashback and we see how what appeared to be a dream relationship slowly went sour as Paul's sexual appetite was difficult to fulfill and Karla would do anything to make him happy. This unhealthy relationship quickly took a turn for the worse when the two decided that Paul should rape Karla's sister while she is drugged. This is the starting point for a series of rapes, abductions, and murders committed by the two as well as a deteriorating relationship that became increasingly violent as Paul continued to beat and degrade his wife. As is established by history and the beginning of the film, they were eventually captured and tried in Canadian court where Karla plea bargained herself a mere 12 years for the crimes she was a part of.

There is no question that the subject matter of this film is disturbing. It is bad enough watching the seemingly endless beatings that Bernardo inflicts upon his wife and abducted teenagers, but we also watch him verbally abusing nearly everyone in sight. This is truly a despicable character who is played very convincingly by Misha Collins. Homolka, on the other hand, is a very cold woman but after witnessing all the abuse from her husband, I almost found myself rooting for her to get out of the situation. I am not sure if this is what the filmmakers intended but it is a very uncomfortable position to be in as a viewer. From my research on the case, it seems as though Homolka was more actively involved in the crimes than the movie lets on but seeing as we are supposed to be seeing her side of the story, it makes sense that some of the really bad stuff is omitted. If this was an artistic intention, it worked but if it was due to the laziness of the screenwriter, it is irresponsible. Prepon delivered a solid performance but we identify her as being stronger than the real Homolka partially due to the fact that we never see her abnormal desperation to please her hubby other than a few key scenes. The coldness of her character can be taken as a form of numbness to the abuse rather than the tendencies of antisocial behavior that many believe that she possesses.

Joel Bender did a decent job of telling the story of these notorious Canadians but I am not sure if taking things from the mind of Homolka was the best way to go as it did bias the story. Then again, no matter how you present subject matter like this, you are bound to offend somebody (especially in the country where the murders where committed). I believe that Wolf Creek came under similar fire as it was deemed as hitting too close to home in Australia. As controversial as the movie is, we cannot say that the filmmakers were exploiting the crimes in the 70's sense of the word as most of the child-rape, torture, and purported degradation was kept off screen but gave enough of an indication as to what was going on that we could piece things together ourselves. Those looking for cheap thrills will be disappointed. Regardless, as a docu-drama the film succeeds in sticking relatively close to the facts and allows us see just how screwed up this couple became. (Josh Pasnak, 1/29/06)

Directed By: Joel Bender.
Written By: Joel Bender, Manette Rosen, Michael D. Sellers.

Starring: Laura Prepon, Misha Collins, Tess Harper, Sarah Foret.