No Man Of God

  Serial killer Ted Bundy (played here by Luke Kirby) spent the last decade of his life - from 1978 to 1989 - in jail and later death row, coming up with increasingly desperate strategies to postpone his execution. During that same time, the FBI's fledgling Behaviour Science Unit took an interest on the case and sent profiler Bill Hagmaier (Elijah Wood) to engage with Bundy and see if he could extract anything from interest from him.

 No Man of God focuses on Bundy through the eyes of agent Hagmaier and (mostly effectively) attempts to demystify the man by zeroing in on his humanity; The film consists on a series of conversations between the two across the years as Bundy's options slowly run out.
 Both of them agree to see each other harbouring a hidden agenda: Hagmaier is trying to get confessions and details out of Bundy. Bundy, for his part, is trying to see if he can use the FBI agent somehow, but really what he wants is to impress Hagmaier. Both are fully aware of each other's motivations, but nevertheless a sort of rapport develops between them, something on the vicinity of an actual friendship.

 The script (by the great C. Robert Cargill, under the pseudonym Kit Lesser) is tight, smart and entertaining, and full of brilliant little moments and details that ring true even when they aren't. It's a fictionalized account off the records of the conversations kept by the real-life Hagmaier, and the man himself served as a producer on the film. If nothing else, it provides one hell of a showcase for the perfectly cast Kirby and Wood, both of of whom absolutely nail their characters.
 Meanwhile, Director Amber Sealey keeps the proceeds from feeling too theatrical, and makes the very effective decision of keeping the women of the movie purposefully sidelined until a late, short but scathing interjection from Bundy's defense attorney (Aleksa Palladino). They are ever present in the margins, looking in from the outside - a pretty powerful thematical choice. And, unexpectedly, one that provides a huge laugh early on.

 The film also portrays the corrosive psychological effect of getting close to someone like Bundy would have; It's a trite point, but I think it's also handled well, allowing you to decide whether Hagmaier is actually being swayed by Bundy when his gaze lingers on attractive women, or if he's just considering what could possibly make someone pull the sort of shit Bundy did; I think the text only really supports one of those interpretations.

 I really liked the soundtrack by Clarice Jensen, too, which consists of more-melodic-than-usual droning synths.

 

 Technically No Man of God is a product of the pandemic, a film with a limited scope built around isolation restrictions. But Sealey's direction again gives it some breathing room - The experimental, voyeuristic snippets of imagery she sprinkles throughout didn't really work for me, but apart from that there's a good spread of different locations and situations, and an on-point extended cast that includes Robert Patrick and Christian Clemenson. The case's historical sweep and clips from actual footage from the time help give the film a minor grandeur that also offsets the claustrophobic limitations imposed by budget or COVID.
 It's a great movie, in other words. Another one of those people like to complain no one makes any more.