Andrew's Movie Review of Talk Radio

Rating of
4/4

Talk Radio

A Man Alone
Andrew - wrote on 05/13/12

Talk Radio is a very compelling film that grips the viewer start to finish. Its 110 minute running time goes by in a flash as the viewer sees a man slowly self-destruct.

That man is Barry Champlain (Eric Bogosian), a Jewish talk show host in Dallas, TX. Everyday on the air, Barry is inundated with callers who spew racist, homophobic, and anti-Semitic epithets at him. Usually Barry responds by insulted his listeners right back. However, as his show is about to become syndicated nationally, his boss Dan (Alec Baldwin) encourages him to scale back his rhetoric. Champlain ignores Dan's advice and continues with his antics and the hate and vitriol only increases with dire consequences.

Talk Radio is certainly one of Oliver Stone's more underrated films. It is a very simple production, most of it being filmed in radio studio where the camera follows the movements of Champlain and the radio staff. However, the viewer can clearly see Stone's imprint on the film with its in your face style of presenting social issues.

Eric Bogosian co-wrote the screenplay and the play that it is on. Bogosian is brilliant as Champlain, owing to his experience in the play. Throughout the film the audience can see that he is a depressed figure that is in danger of being pushed over the edge. In that way he is similar to Peter Finch's character in Network, another great film about mass media, although his character looks very similar to Howard Stern and is based on Alan Berg. The ending monologue is so brilliantly delivered that I had to wonder why I had never heard of Bogosian before. The decision to cast Bogosian rather than a more famous actor was a great decision made by Stone and Bogosian shines bright in this film.

This movie is excellent. Its dialogue between talk show host and the listeners is shocking and revolting and keeps the audience interested throughout. The film is adapted well from the play, which took place entirely within the studio. Any fan of Oliver Stone's will find an expected treasure when it comes to this film. It is disappointing that relatively few people have seen it and that number will only decrease as the years go on. Still, this is a great movie that most certainly should be seen.

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