The phenomenon of serial murderers continues to live in a significant space in the dark recesses of the American psyche. I attend several horror fan conventions throughout a calendar year and you can’t imagine the amount of “memorabilia” I see being sold for Charles Manson, Jeffery Dahmer, and the subject of No Man of God, Ted Bundy.
Bundy’s story has been a subject of both film and documentaries countless times. Just two years ago, Netflix released both a documentary, Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes, and the incredibly disappointing, Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil, and Vile.
With those two recent releases, was there really a need for another look at Ted Bundy? The answer is a resounding yes as Amber Sealey’s No Man of God examines the final years of Bundy’s (Luke Kirby) life in a psychological thriller that looks to answer the question of Why? rather than the glorification of his murders.
No Man of God opens with an impactful flashback to the morning of Bundy’s execution as he takes his final breath at a Florida State Prison, following ten years of death row appeals. Sealy then takes the film in a time machine back to the mid-to-late 1980s, as we meet Bill Hagmaier (Elijah Wood), an FBI analyst who volunteers to enter the mind of Bundy as he hopes to get him to open up about why he raped and killed women across the US during the 1970s. Hagmaier uses the newly created FBI technique known as “profiling” aiding analysts in understanding the minds of the men behind serial murders. Bundy has long resisted talking to authorities, but something about Hagmaier intrigues him, setting in motion years of conversation between the two until the very end of Bundy’s life.
The film looks at the man in the same light as David Fincher’s Mindhunter, where the psychological examination outweighs the actions from the past. Those atrocities have already happened but understanding why is Sealey’s ultimate message in the film. One of the most compelling moments in the movie comes early on where Ted Bundy tells Hagmaier the most simplistic yet haunting reason as to the types of people that commit these heinous crimes, “normal people kill people.”
The freshness from Kit Lesser’s screenplay comes from the previously mentioned motivations of the film and its simplicity of location. The film primarily centers on one room where two men are just talking and deep-diving into each other’s worlds. While not covering new grounds on the actual story of Bundy, Kesser and Sealy’s choice for narrative structure brings a level of freshness to the story.
Luke Kirby (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) is sensational as Bundy. Kirby’s cerebral performance is both menacing and subtle. The effectiveness of Kirby’s version stems from the questions that are created for cinephiles. Is Bill in control, or is Bundy manipulating Hagmaier throughout their multi-year interview sessions? Kirby’s mannerisms add to his performance where you question whether Bundy is evading Bill’s questions or just being an arrogant asshole. There is never a moment where you don’t feel Kirby is in control and will go down as his best performance thus far.
While Kirby is undoubtedly the best in the show, in a film that’s a two-person show, Elijah Wood matches Kirby’s intensity while exuding Bill’s integrity that helped him grow within his role in the FBI. Wood is the film’s moral compass as he urges Kirby’s Bundy to confess to bring peace to his victim’s families and express remorse. Wood’s performance also sheds light on Bill’s unique ability to communicate with the killer and gain his trust. While it may be hard to disconnect Wood from his iconic role in The Lord of the Rings, his performance is one of his finest in his long career.
Does No Man of God add significant revelations to the films already out there? Cinephiles can debate that. What can’t be disputed is that the film is a fascinating drama that offers a unique insight into Bundy’s state of mind towards the end of his life and holds your interest while you watch.
