Swoon (1992)

Director:

Tom Kalin

Writers:

Hilton Als (collaborating writer)
Tom Kalin (writer)

Release Date:

25 September 1992 (UK)

Genre:

Biography | Crime | Drama

Tagline:

Was it a crime of passion? Or a passion for crime?

Plot:

The true story of gay lovers, Richard Loeb and Nathan Leopold Jr. who kidnapped and murdered a child in the early 1920s for kicks...

Plot Keywords:

1920s | Dry Hump | Homosexual | Murderer Duo | Dead Children

Awards:

6 wins & 6 nominations

Cast

Daniel Schlachet	...	Richard Loeb
Craig Chester	...	Nathan Leopold Jr.
Ron Vawter	...	State's Attorney Crowe
Michael Kirby	...	Detective Savage
Michael Stumm	...	Doctor Bowman
Valda Z. Drabla	...	Germaine Reinhardt
Natalie Stanford	...	Susan Lurie
Isabela Araujo	...	Venus in Furs Diva
Jill 'Spanky' Buchanan	...	Venus in Furs Diva
Nashom Benjamin	...	Venus in Furs Diva / Mona Foot (as Mona Foot)
Trash	...	Venus in Furs Diva
Trasharama	...	Venus in Furs Diva
Nashom Wooden	...	Venus in Furs Diva
Peter Bowen	...	Factory Workman
Ryan Landry	...	Ivory

Runtime:

82 min | Spain:94 min | Sweden:92 min | UK:80 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:M | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:Open (rating surrendered: 1992) | USA:R (original rating: 1992)

Filming Locations:

Central Park, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

American Playhouse

Trivia:

Daniel Schlachet's mother in the film is played by Barbara Bleier, who is his mother in real life.

Goofs:

Incorrectly regarded as goofs: Characters use telephones with Touch Tone dialing-systems and other modern devices, even though the film is set in the early 1920's. The placement of such anachronistic objects was deliberate on the part of the filmmakers.

Movie Connections:

References Rear Window (1954)

Wonderful cinematography, sub-par acting

The film "Swoon" gives an insightful view into the minds that went behind the Leoplod-Loeb murder case. The cinematography was very well done, looking as if actual 1920s film stock, yet using very progressive camera angles and point-of-view shots at times. The film was also very frank about how homosexuality (and prejudice against it)played a role in the murder and their conviction of the murder. It's interesting to think of it in light of Alfred Hitchcock's "Rope," (which is based on the same murder case) in which the homosexuality of the lead characters is only hinted at.

Another thing I found interesting was the use of anachronisms. You might notice whenever the Leopold-Loeb duo use a phone in the movie, they always use touch-tone phones, while every else has phones more fitting for the time period. Another anachronism is an homage to Hitchcock. When Leopold and Loeb meet in bed, they recite nearly verbatim the opening lines from a scene in Hitchcock's "Rear Window" in which Lisa Carol Fremont (Grace Kelly) kisses L.B. "Jeff" Jeffries (Jimmy Stewart).

My only major complaint about the film was the acting. It seemed as if the two leads were either melodramatic or stoic, most often at the wrong times. Even the bit part players seemed rather aloof in their acting. A better cast would have made this movie much better.