Yesterday I wanted to see Normal Life, a 1996 film directed by John McNaughton.
I watched it for the umpteenth time and it hit me like every other time.
Have any of you seen it?
This is the fourth film by the American director John McNaughton after Henry: Portrait of Serial Killer from 1986 which if you haven't seen you are obliged to see NOW, the funny splatter horror The Borrower from 1991 and the mainstream big-budget comedy Mad Dog and Glory from 1993.
With Normal Life the director returns to making a film with a smaller budget.
Chris, an honest Chicago cop, meets by chance in a bar Pam, a young self-destructive blonde with alcohol and drug problems and mentally disturbed, and falls in love with her.
The two decide to get married but soon after problems begin due to Pam who with her crazy expenses fills the couple with debts.
In addition to this Chris has also lost his job due to differences with colleagues.
For the love of Pam then he will decide to rob banks using his experience as a policeman.
All be fine at first but Pam's self-destructive spiral will lead them both to a bad end.
Chris is played by the actor Luke Perry, famous for the television serial Beverly Hills, 90210 that I would not have thought suitable in a similar role and instead he gets along very well, while Pam is played by the good Ashley Judd.
In the role of Chris' father is actor Tom Towles, also present in McNaughton's previous films.
In Henry: Portrait of Serial Killer he played Otis and in The borrower he was one of the headhunter's victims.
If you have seen Henry: Portrait of Serial Killer, the directorial style will quite remind you of that film, very cold and devoid of any spectacularization but only careful to follow the two protagonists up to the tragic ending and with the musical commentary reduced to the bone.
The title of the film is Normal life, or the normal life that Chris would like to have with Pam.
The problem is that Pam is not a normal girl.
The film is inspired by the true story of the spouses Jeffrey and Jill Erickson from which another film was also based, In the line of Duty of 1997 directed by Dick Lowry.
