This is the true story of a year in the life of Jeffery Dahmer when he was a High School Senior and before he became a notorious cannabalistic gay serial killer. It is based on the graphic novel by one of Dahmer’s classmates John Backderf who actually narrowly escaped being one of Dahmer’s first victims, but up to then had been the nearest thing to a friend that this rather strange loner had.
Dahmer’s (Ross Lynch) childhood was unbalanced to say the least. His manic bipolar mother (a rather wonderful performance by Anne Heche) was recently out of mental institution and her violent mood swings were really affecting the whole family. Dahmer’s father (Dallas Roberts) a Chemist couldn’t handle her at all, so he spent as much time as possible at work.
Dahmer, left a lot to his own devices, whiles away his time collecting road kill, and then in his garden shed he immerses them in jars of acid so that he can watch them slowly disintegrate. He is so obsessed with his hobby that makes him such a loner, that his father in a rage one day destroys the shed and all its content insisting that it is time for him to learn some social skills and get some friends.
He is a complete outsider at school but when one day in the hallway to get himself noticed, he fakes a wild epileptic fit which draws the attention of three of his classmates led by ‘Derf’ (Alex Wolff) who things this is so crazy, that it is actually ‘cool”. They formed a Dahmer fan club and although they all start to hang out together, they are hardly real friends and they encourage Dahmer to repeat his ‘spazzing out’ to achieve notoriety amongst their peers.
Meanwhile Dahmer has also acquired an obsession for a lone jogger who runs in the country lane past his house three times a week. When he discovers he is a doctor, Dahmer seems to be confused if he is sexually attracted to the man, or if he wants to kill him to meet his other needs.
By the time his parents have decided to separate and his father moves out of the family home, an unhappy Dahmer takes to drink. This is not really due to his parents withdrawing from his life, but more about giving himself some ‘dutch courage’ to think about indulging in his dastardly acts which will take over his life very soon.
Written and directed by Marc Meyers, this very compelling movie very successful portrays a unique view of how this very disturbed teenager with his unchecked life develops into becoming a monster that no-one could have ever imagined or foreseen. It’s an exceptionally powerful performance from the very talented Lynch who plays the good-looking Dahmer as an irritated slouched teenager that goes out of his way not to be noticed. He is however brighter than his classmates in respect that he knows very well that they do not understand or actually like, but use his clownish behavior almost a calling card.
My Friend Dahmer rightly doesn’t seek to explain away how this nerdish schoolboy turned out as he did, although it does give us several hints, but most of all it reminds us how gruesome that horror story that followed really was.
Labels: 2017, dramatized real-life, LGBT
