Directed by Scott Flynn. Starring Patrick Bauchau, Jack Conley, John Alyward, Silas Weir MItchell, Jillian Armenante, Lexi Ainsworth. Drama/Historical/True Crime. Synopsis: A biopic of notorious serial killer Albert Fish, who murdered several young children in New York in the 1920s and 1930s before being executed.
I hope you don't take this the wrong way, but I've long been interested in criminology and serial killers, and one of the more despicable and little known serial killers in this country was Albert Fish, who also was one of the older ones.
The Gray Man is essentially a biopic of his life, with an emphasis on the crime that eventually sent him to the electric chair in 1936 at the age of 66 , the murder of ten year old Grace Budd (Lexi Ainsworth).
Fish is played by Patrick Bauchau, who does a fine job playing a man anyone would hate and, believe it or not, in some ways makes Fish empathetic. The film takes great pains-pun intended-to show us the harsh corporal punishment Fish received as a young boy at an orphanage and how it might have been the impetus for Fish's sadomasochistic tendencies, which are also graphically depicted in the film. The hero in the flick is Detective King (Jack Conley Get Shorty) who pursued Fish for years in his investigation of the murder of young Grace Budd.
I thought the film did an especially good job of really bringing home the tragedy of Grace Budd's murder, something that most of us could not imagine happening in our time, unsophisticated and poor parents letting their little girl go with a stranger to a supposed "party" because they thought he might have some employment for them and, back then, everyone thought you could trust a kind old man...maybe we even think that today, I don't know.
I do take some issue with the flick's portray of the parent's of Grace Budd, particularly her mother (Jillian Armenante North Country) who is depicted as seeking to capitalize on her daughter's disappearance ( the case went unsolved for years and might have continued to be so if not for Fish himself) for publicity. My research of the case doesn't show this and, even if true, what is the point? I think its something we can envision today in our current 24/7, celebrity/fame in an instant and for anything culture, but I don't think that would have been the case in the 1930s.
Having a child lost to violence is something anyone who is a parent cannot even bear to contemplate, knowing you unwittingly sent your child to her killer with your blessing is a burden I wouldn't wish on anyone, and I wish the film had treated those two poor parents a little better. I don't care if it is 70+ years after the fact and they're both deceased.
But, that's just my opinion and I can't say it takes from the film. I'm a stickler for historical films sticking to known facts and, as best as I can determine, The Gray Man does that. Its well acted and I don't think a viewer needs any prior familiarity with the case to follow and appreciate the film.
I can't say I think most will enjoy the film, it's not meant to be enjoyed, in my opinion. How can you say you enjoyed a movie about a sick sonuvabitch who molested, killed, and cannabalized children? Rest easy, those of you with interest in checking this one out but also with high sensibility, you will not see the worst of Albert Fish in this flick...or any other, I would hope. All you need to know about this guy is he inserted pins into his groin for pleasure.
Not a decent person, to say the least. But, a decent film, especially if you have an interest in true crime stories.
I hope you don't take this the wrong way, but I've long been interested in criminology and serial killers, and one of the more despicable and little known serial killers in this country was Albert Fish, who also was one of the older ones.
The Gray Man is essentially a biopic of his life, with an emphasis on the crime that eventually sent him to the electric chair in 1936 at the age of 66 , the murder of ten year old Grace Budd (Lexi Ainsworth).
Fish is played by Patrick Bauchau, who does a fine job playing a man anyone would hate and, believe it or not, in some ways makes Fish empathetic. The film takes great pains-pun intended-to show us the harsh corporal punishment Fish received as a young boy at an orphanage and how it might have been the impetus for Fish's sadomasochistic tendencies, which are also graphically depicted in the film. The hero in the flick is Detective King (Jack Conley Get Shorty) who pursued Fish for years in his investigation of the murder of young Grace Budd.
I thought the film did an especially good job of really bringing home the tragedy of Grace Budd's murder, something that most of us could not imagine happening in our time, unsophisticated and poor parents letting their little girl go with a stranger to a supposed "party" because they thought he might have some employment for them and, back then, everyone thought you could trust a kind old man...maybe we even think that today, I don't know.
I do take some issue with the flick's portray of the parent's of Grace Budd, particularly her mother (Jillian Armenante North Country) who is depicted as seeking to capitalize on her daughter's disappearance ( the case went unsolved for years and might have continued to be so if not for Fish himself) for publicity. My research of the case doesn't show this and, even if true, what is the point? I think its something we can envision today in our current 24/7, celebrity/fame in an instant and for anything culture, but I don't think that would have been the case in the 1930s.
Having a child lost to violence is something anyone who is a parent cannot even bear to contemplate, knowing you unwittingly sent your child to her killer with your blessing is a burden I wouldn't wish on anyone, and I wish the film had treated those two poor parents a little better. I don't care if it is 70+ years after the fact and they're both deceased.
But, that's just my opinion and I can't say it takes from the film. I'm a stickler for historical films sticking to known facts and, as best as I can determine, The Gray Man does that. Its well acted and I don't think a viewer needs any prior familiarity with the case to follow and appreciate the film.
I can't say I think most will enjoy the film, it's not meant to be enjoyed, in my opinion. How can you say you enjoyed a movie about a sick sonuvabitch who molested, killed, and cannabalized children? Rest easy, those of you with interest in checking this one out but also with high sensibility, you will not see the worst of Albert Fish in this flick...or any other, I would hope. All you need to know about this guy is he inserted pins into his groin for pleasure.
Not a decent person, to say the least. But, a decent film, especially if you have an interest in true crime stories.
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