SLIFF 2010 Review: ANNE PERRY: INTERIORS

Whether a person calls the much-maligned genre mystery, crime, suspense thrillers, pulp fiction, who-done-its or Noir, I’ve always been a fan of the genre in all of its manifestations. It’s all some people ever read! As for moi, perhaps it just shows that I have some twisted subconscious thoughts…or perhaps it just shows that I am like millions of other people who like the mystery and crime that keeps the reader turning the pages in frenzied anticipation.

I have no way of actually knowing, but I wonder how many writers of this particular genre have either been a part of an actual crime or committed one? Well, I know that Hitchcock, although a film director (and an excellent conceptualist of storyboarded scenes and the grammar of film) is a not a writer, but let’s face it, he had a twisted, but basically fun and active imagination.

As far as writing novels within the hard-boiled, historic crime mystery genre, I recall that James Elroy, of L.A. Confidential novel and film, had an early childhood that was very, um…noir: Elroy had lost his own mother to an unsolved murder, and then later he became a bit of a self-described pervert in Los Angeles, breaking into homes and stealing women’s underwear. Sick, yes, but he’s still a damn good writer by any gauge of these matters.

Now comes this new documentary. It sounded interesting with a Neon ‘I’: One writer of bestselling fiction actually did commit a murder, although the details of it will not be discovered in this otherwise enjoyable, slow and slick film, Anne Perry-Interiors.

Starting with her at a Canadian book festival, she appears to be a personable, middle-aged woman who knows the craft of writing. She’s written many bestsellers. She’s written 30 books, work that has brought her at least 35 million dollars. The film shows her working, with her brother and other assistants in a beautiful house in Scotland. She sure seems like a good egg. Then again, so did Norman Bates. Seriously, I’m sure she’s truly a good person, but if you view this film, don’t expect to find out any sexy nuggets about the murder which sent her to prison. She helped murder her best friends, mom.

Remember Peter Jackson’s early, atmospheric film, ‘Heavenly Creatures’? Well, that was based on Perry’s life.

The film itself is a mystery, but it is also quite interesting as long as you don’t want your documentary to have tidy answers.