SERIAL KILLER GIVEN MOMENT IN SILVER

WOOD PROVIDES AN IMPERFECT MIRROR FOR THE PERFECT KILLER

By PETER THOMAS BUSCH

Director Amber Sealey goes inside the private mind of a serial killer in No Man of God (2021).

Elijah Wood stars as FBI profiler Bill Hagmaier. Luke Kirby plays serial killer Ted Bundy waiting on death row while the courts reconsider his conviction for killing a 12 year old girl.

The film starts with the Federal Bureau of Investigations deciding to continue interviews with death row inmates for the compilation of serial killer profiles.

Hagmaier volunteers to profile Bundy, who was known to law enforcement and correction officials as a non-talker.

Sealey soon leaves the camera in the interview room for the majority of screen time. The narrative though is a bit more complex. Sealy builds suspense around the possibility that Bundy will help the FBI in solving dozens of murders across several states.

Kirby does a god job in portraying Bundy as a shifty personality that cannot really be trusted. Bundy allows himself to be interviewed so long as he is in control, and apart from appeasing his narcissism, a stick of spearmint gum is all he needs to stay motivated.

Wood creates Hagmaier as an introverted purposeful perfectionist seeking to create a greater good while praying to God for strength.

Sealey shows through the juxtapositions of personalities that subtle differences between the profiler and the serial killer distinguish good from evil.

The film ultimately revolves around the fascinating thread of character studies that Wood and Kirby spin.

Bundy grew into the killing spree, learning from detective magazines and training a bit, and taking a scientific approach to choosing his victims, before becoming emboldened by the knowledge that he would not get caught.

Cinematographer Karina Silva seamlessly blends the dark light within the prison walls with the not so dark light of the detective offices and standard issue motor vehicle, providing consistent lighting as the camera moves from the passenger side to the driver’s side without interference from the glare of the sun.

A music score is used in conjunction with the sound of little details in the room, but what is most important in driving the narrative is the clarity of the voices and the emphatic acting that gives deeper meaning to the words spoken.

No Man of God is a compelling movie focused on the task at hand.

Sealey takes everyone, actors and audience alike, through a dreamscape about the murder scene with a music score and background sounds layered below the acting and the dialogue. 

This turning point in the script illustrates how a serial killer’s almost neutral outer persona is a cover for three or four layers of bad, beginning with the felling of disappointment and then building into rage before the homicidal ideations begin to surface through what is truly evil pleasure.

The 1 hour and 40 minute runtime is a perfect edit for the biopic focused on attaining a greater understanding about how evil rationalizes evil deeds. 

No Man of God is streaming on Apple TV for 99 cents in Canada.