LESLIE, MY NAME IS EVIL
Leslie, My Name Is Evil focuses on the trial of Charles Manson and his followers, butit’s far from a conventional re-hash of the grisly details. It is a charged, intensely stylized postmodern analysis of one of the key battles in the culture wars that consumedAmerica for much of the 60’s. The ostensible hero is Perry, an earnest, sexually desperateyoung chemist engaged to Dorothy, a devout Christian who refuses to sleep with him until they get married. When he’s called for jury duty on the Manson Family trial, Perry is exposed to a completely different world, one defined by drugs, rock ‘n’ roll and, most importantly, free love. He’s especially taken with Leslie Van Houten, who appears to be the least overtly indoctrinated member of the family.
Though Harkema adheres to the facts, the film is fundamentally anti-realist, mixing camp, agitprop and the devices of both courtroom dramas and true-crime shows – a combination that makes for numerous moments of fiercely intelligent and spectacularly uncomfortable comedy. (Steve Gravestock)
- Kristen Hager - Leslie
- Gregory Smith - Perry
- Ryan Robbins - Charlie
- Tiio Horn - Katie
- Anjelica Scannura - Sadie
- Kristin Adams - Dorothy
- Peter MacNeill - Richter
- Don McKellar - Staatsanwalt
- Reginald Harkema
- Jonathan Cliff
- Steve Munro
- Kathy Weinkauf
- Paul Kehayas
- Mark Gabriel
- Sarah Millman
E1 Entertainment International
