Infamous (2020)

Infamous (aka Southland) review by Mark McPherson - Cinema Paradiso

There’s such a misguided tone to the likes of Infamous that an alternative title could be Natural Born Killers: The Next Generation. It’s a picture that takes note of a duo in crime who scour America for excitement in all the law-breaking they can commit. Except their drive is less for their own satisfaction or revenge on a life that has wronged them and more for likes and follows on social media. The result is more akin to a goofy cautionary tale of online influence better suited for the Pure Flix propaganda pile.

The film concerns two young and rebellious teenagers who want to break out in the world but feel they are limited by their dreary small town. With little aspirations present, all that the young Arielle hopes for is to attain fame in the fastest way possible with an online social following. But it’s a tough market that social media, considering her slew of selfies only garner a handful of followers. What could she do? Well, once she teams up with the brash and blonde Dean, they find the perfect way to up that account: Robbery and murder.

The parallels to Natural Born Killers is pretty vocal although the cracks are already visible from the very premise. While I understand that the film is trying to push how social media holds too much influential power in the same way Natural Born Killers satirized television, there’s a key component missing here that doesn’t make it work. Natural Born Killers had a sleazy TV producer played by Robert Downey Jr. pushing for more of questionable on television and subverting the law for the biggest boost in ratings. Infamous doesn’t have that aspect. We’re merely meant to expect that the powers that be are remaining silent with their platforms to allow these robberies to continue to boost the crime duo to popular status.

All that’s left after that aspect of satire falls flat is the drive of the crimes and it’s a little hard to get used to such neon-infused rebellion when it tries too hard for the punk appeal. There isn’t much of anything to the characters of Arielle and Dean, existing more as cyphers for social media addict generation. They speak in generalities, they get turned on by crime, and they have so little charisma it’s no wonder they try crime as I’m sure it would give them something to work with. The robberies themselves are never really all that engaging, given the usual dose of handheld camera techniques and off editing. But, more importantly, I wasn’t interested in Arielle or Dean making it through these crimes as A) they’re not interesting and B) they offer no commentary on the nature of being addicted to crime documented on social media.

Infamous could’ve been as brash and insightful to be that 21st century version of Natural Born Killers, but only puts in enough leg work to be little more than a low-rent Spring Breakers. The picture stages its crimes more as cool than questioning and treats its internet inspiration more as peppering than a theme. How much one will take away from this picture being a cautionary tale is up for debate but I’m certain the younger crowd are either going gape in awe at the cool crimes or scoff in dismal at that half-hazard treatment of social media platforms.