When it comes to directors I like my Oliver Stone like I like my women – bat shit crazy. I want images to fly off the screen that have little to do with the story at hand but everything to do with the emotion you should be feelings. Why is there suddenly an animated sequence in Natural Born Killers? Who knows? But it helps covey the feeling of madness that takes hold of that satire on media. Somehow the weird choices he makes work. The quick cuts and black and white footage of JFK are obviously the reason it works. It keeps the story moving. Doesn’t let the audience rest for a single minute. It’s why we are able to process so much complex information so clearly. We are wide eyed. Our senses working overtime. It’s why JFK is one of the greatest films ever made. The technique again was used to perfection in Nixon. These became the trademarks of an Oliver Stone production and I loved them.
