Dahmer (2002)

User Rating:

5.4/10   

Director:

David Jacobson

Writer:

David Jacobson (written by)

Release Date:

13 March 2003 (Sweden)

Genre:

Biography | Crime | Drama | Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

The mind is a place of its own.

Plot:

Based on the true crime story of serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, this movie tells the emotionally riveting story of a man who turned his darkest fantasies into a horrifying reality. |

Plot Keywords:

Serial Killer | Baseball Bat | Photograph | Drill In The Head | Boyfriend Boyfriend Relationship

Awards:

3 nominations

Cast

Jeremy Renner	...	Jeffrey Dahmer
Bruce Davison	...	Lionel Dahmer
Artel Great	...	Rodney (as Artel Kayàru)
Matt Newton	...	Lance Bell
Dion Basco	...	Khamtay
Kate Williamson	...	Grandma
Christina Payano	...	Letitia
Tom'ya Bowden	...	Shawna
Sean Blakemore	...	Corliss
Mickey Swenson	...	Officer Phillips
Julius Branca	...	Officer Powell
Pierson Blaetz	...	Officer Martin
Vincent Zangari	...	Ohio Officer
Xavier Lawrence	...	Young Man in Bar
David Manis	...	Shop Steward

Also Known As:

The Mind Is a Place of Its Own (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for aberrant violence, sexuality, language and some drug use.

Runtime:

101 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Sweden:15 | Australia:R | Canada:18A | Germany:18 | Norway:15 | UK:15 | USA:R (certificate #38948)

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Blockbuster Films

Goofs:

Factual errors: The uniforms for the Milwaukee Police officers are incorrect. The badges and cap shields are L.A. style and the officers are wearing shoulder patches on both shoulders. Milwaukee officers wear a patch only on the left shoulder.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Title Card: On February 15, 1992 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Jeffrey Lionel Dahmer was convicted of 15 counts of murder and sentenced to 937 years of federal prison. The following story was inspired by events from his life. Certain characters and events are fictional.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 2003 IFP Independent Spirit Awards (2003) (TV)

Soundtrack:

More More More

Image as Narrative

"Dahmer" is, by and far, one of the best films I have ever seen.

Like it or not, the famous and infamous are inevitably mythologized. They become ciphers for the human dilemmas and attributes which compel them to commit the acts that grant them their notoriety. Serial killers such as Jeffrey Dahmer are no exception. For better or for ill, they take their place in the pantheon of popular culture.

How, then, to handle this? It is easy to turn a figure like Dahmer into a devil, a monster who embodies the most violent and irrational of human impulses. This, sadly, is far from productive or enlightening. It says nothing of the human condition besides the depths to which it can sink. Do we really need another film to learn this? The capacity for human evil is made more than apparent by the atrocities one encounters when reading a history book.

The makers of this film attempted something different. Dahmer becomes a sort of avatar of human loneliness, of alienation and the terrible force of sexual frustration and the wrath it inspires. We are shown a lonely man who craves the affection of others but is incapable of attaining it in the normal fashion. The Dahmer of this film employs drugs and violence to subdue those he desires and transform them into living dolls. The viewer gets the sense that, as he cuddles with the comatose body of his victim, he wants nothing more than a body beside his own as he struggles through his nightmarish sleep. Renner, the actor who portrays Dahmer in this film, says more by the contented look on his face as he holds his victims than any philosopher has ever written about the nature of the relation of Self to Other.

The acting is superb in this film. The soundtrack, especially its use of Siren's haunting "Blue Theme," does wonders to capture the type of loneliness which the makers of this film have used Dahmer to symbolize.

Most impressive, perhaps, is the use of image as narrative. There are far too many examples to cite, of course. However, one stands out clearly in my mind. Flashing back to Jeffrey's younger days, he is shown attending a party he holds at his own home. Wandering about alone, he happens upon a couple engaged in amorous play. After watching for a few moments, he leaves the home and commends himself to the night.

Unable to touch the Other, we inevitably delve deeper into the Self. "Dahmer" shows us what happens when such a descent brings us into darkness.

God help us when we finally glimpse the soul and come to the realization that it is not spirit, but an abyss.