Truly Dreadful Film

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

A rude, contemptuous talk show host (Eric Bogosian) becomes overwhelmed by the hatred that surrounds his program just before it goes national.This seems to be a very divisive film, both loved and hated. Personally, I think it is among Oliver Stone's best work, primarily because it lacks his extreme, conspiracy-minded point of view. (Not that I mind his point of view, but it does make many of his films less mainstream.) This is a story of a man who is hated and sort of thrives off of being hated... but how far can he push it? In away, I think the film was both timely and prescient. Sure, it was roughly / loosely based off of something that had already happened. But, I feel it also was ahead of the curve so far as the "shock jock" craze goes. Howard Stern didn't really reach his peak until the mid-90s, or maybe even later. Today (2016) this form of radio host seems to be on the decline, but it's not so long ago that I can't relate.

Barry Champlain (Eric Bogosian) is a contemptuous talk radio personality in the Dallas area, boasting a caustic sense of humor his listeners love and his detractors loathe. Most of his phone calls involve loners, drunks, sex fiends, neo-Nazis, and many other unique souls, all of whom finding themselves cut down several sizes when they are placed on air with Barry, who gives them a far-left rant they never anticipated. Barry gets off on lambasting the public, often ignoring the instructions of his stressed boss Dan (Alec Baldwin), his long-suffering producer/girlfriend Laura (Leslie Hope), and powerless program director Dietz (John Pankow), all of whom preparing themselves for a national broadcast for Barry's program due to commence very soon.Oliver Stone plunges us into the lives of this soul in Talk Radio, arguably his most underrated film, and a soul, for that matter, who most of us would probably hate if we came in contact with in real life. There are hints of self-loathing on Barry's behalf throughout the entire film. Consider the scene when a sensuous caller dials into Barry's program and questions why he uses his intelligence to belittle people for their opinions and goes on to say it's because he is scared and fickle. Barry's face becomes void of any expression; the cool guy smirk and upturned eyebrows are traded for a blank stare and moistening skin. Barry is often greeted with so many strange, incompetent, sometimes incoherent callers that never question his personal ethos that when he finally finds a caller who does such a thing, he is momentarily silenced.Yet, despite infrequent setbacks like this, Barry persists on, turning talk radio dialogues into personal monologues driven by condemnation of culture, societal ethics, and misfit culture. When he has the mic, he is in charge above all and his greed monopolizes the entire scenario. He's like a more politically charged and less charismatic Howard Stern. He's stripped of every inherent thing likable about radio personalities, and yet, I found him to be one of the most fascinating anti-heroes and despicable characters I had ever seen committed to film. This very idea is what's exposed throughout Talk Radio; we are fascinated and entranced by people like Barry, who give us what we need to fulfill our ugliest human desires, metaphorically cleansing ourselves of deprivation, and yet, dirtying us up with a whole new layer of muck and rancid human hate.Writers Stone, Bogosian, Tad Savinar, and Stephen Singular (author of Talked to Death: The Life and Murder of Alan Berg, concerning the life of radio personality Alan Berg, whom Barry Champlain is based upon) deeply consider this notion whilst fleshing out Barry into a thoroughly watchable presence. If Barry endlessly spewed hate without a shred of wit, we wouldn't buy it. However, Barry is smooth in his conversation, immaculate in his diction, and his ability to go off on two to three minute monologues, featuring a plethora of adjectives and complex political ideas, is nothing shy of entrancing. Bogosian gives an Oscar worthy performance in one of his few film roles (and only starring roles), making incredible use of the smallest film setting next to an elevator. His impeccable vocal delivery, which manages to send shivers down spines when he goes from casual conversation to intense, politically/racially-charged monologue, and his subtle, but very noticeable, mannerisms are all on point with every scene in the film.Talk Radio is also a film of sublime aesthetic quality, thanks to Stone and cinematographer Robert Richardson (who later went from working with Stone to working with Martin Scorsese on films like The Aviator and Hugo) making the most out of the tight-knit radio room. Every square-inch of the room is at Stone and Richardson's disposal, as they allow the camera to linger on shots of the radio switchboard, the yellow/red ON-AIR light, which becomes a blinding sight during a couple extreme closeups, the TV screen, which shows which callers are on hold, and, probably the most mesmerizing of all, as stated, Bogosian's facial expressions. These small transitory scenes allow for a huge impact on the overall project in terms of effectively creating a darker, more sinister mood and Stone and company certainly don't skimp on them. It's inclusions like these that make a good film into a great film, or even make a great film an incredible film.Above all, Talk Radio catches Stone in a mood of critiquing the media's influence on culture, even before Stone was haled for directing Natural Born Killers; what happens when dark, perverse programs like Barry's become the staple for a nation's culture? The opening monologue of Barry's has him condemning American culture as predicated upon pornography and slasher films, and Stone, in turn, spends the next one-hundred and forty-six minutes examining this idea. Through vivid camera angles, a magnificent and deep central performance, an immersing story and character at the core that do nothing but make the audience turn a mirror onto themselves, and gripping pacing throughout the entire film, Talk Radio is a masterclass of pulpy thriller filmmaking masquerading, though occasionally operating, as a drama.Starring: Eric Bogosian, Alec Baldwin, Leslie Hope, Ellen Greene, and John Pankow. Directed by: Oliver Stone.

Talk Radio is an excellent film with a phenomenal cast, brilliant writing and a brilliant leading man. Where it fails is with the cartoon character caricature callers who are plucked right out of the textbook of Texas stereotypes. Some of them actually sound like Warner Bros. cartoon characters from Bugs Bunny. It was really distracting. EB is a brilliant actor who really carried the film...with much help from the incomparable Alec Baldwin. If not for the goofy callers, this would be in my top 10 films of all time...up there with Fargo, Goodfellas and others. I was surprised to learn this was an Oliver Stone film because it didn't seem to get much publicity. Excellent story, brilliant script...very enjoyable. I highly recommend this film.

Oliver Stone is known for making somewhat controversial films that oftentimes shape history to his liking. This film is completely different than the normal Stone. It's a character piece studying the madness that a radio talk show host is thrown into, and 80% of the film takes place in one setting, which makes the film both perfectly uncomfortable and claustrophobic, and allows intimacy with the protagonist. In addition to that, this is shot so well, taking full use of the tiny little set used.Barry Champlain (star and screen/playwriter Eric Bogosian) is a talk radio host out of Dallas that hosts a controversial show offending many of his listeners. Barry has a failed marriage that he would like to rekindle, and even his fans seem to hate him. After being told his local show is going national, Barry has to put on one final local show, and in doing it, gains an insight into his audience.Eric Bogosian first wrote this film as a play, and it was fleshed out to make this movie, and really there could not have been a better actor to play Barry than Eric. In addition to his great voice, he brings the perfect level of arrogance to the role, which contrasts nicely against the moronic callers the voice their lack of opinion on his show. The whole movie has a lack of opinion, and becomes a movie about the lack of opinion in people, Barry's revelation about this is a great scene.The blocking and camera angles in the small radio set are great. Stone and his cinematographer Robert Richardson play with shadowy close-ups, and shots through windows with reflections, and angles that give the film a kind of creepy feel. The intimacy of the set, along with the callers who threaten to kill Barry give a constant feeling that something bad is going to happen. The direction and the writing meld perfectly together to make this fairly straightforward character piece a thriller. You don't really know what's around the bend, but the feeling of dread is strong. Overall, this film is a character study, and at the same time, a minimalist thriller, relying completely on the audience's imagination as to what is going to happen. The dialogue is sharp, the acting is great, and the cinematography is cramped in a good way, showing a certain madness. This is definitely right up there with Stone's very best work!My rating: **** out of ****. 109 mins. Rated R for language.