Double Book Review: Never the Sinner and Thrill Me

Since watching Swoon I've been very interested in the Leopold-Loeb case, especially the controlling, disturbed relationship between the two, where they made a pact that if Leopold helped Loeb with his criminal activities, Loeb would love him in return. Never the Sinner by John Logan and Thrill Me: the Leopold and Loeb Story by Stephen Dolginoff go into detail about the pact the two boys made, and speculate as to what their relationship was like behind closed walls. I felt somewhat like a fly on the wall reading the scenes, which is always a good feeling with cases where not very much is revealed!

The characters were not as loathsome as I anticipated (except for perhaps Richard Loeb, though I did feel a bit sorry for him in the song "Afraid", when he realised he wasn't the master criminal or Übermensch that he fervently believed he was, and became afraid to be executed), and I actually really liked the portrayals of Nathan in these two plays/musicals. Nathan is easily my favourite character out of the two, though I do think that what they did to poor Bobby Franks was despicable.

Both of them were intriguing plays and really made my inner thespian self want to see them on stage; however, both of them were very short for books that cost ten pounds, and it left me wanting more. My favourite out of the two was Thrill Me, as the twist at the end had me on the edge of my seat, suddenly feeling not-so-sorry for Nathan Leopold, whom I'd always sympathised with for feeling like he had to do dirty work to get his relationship with Richard to work, and slightly disturbed over the lengths he'd go to to keep Loeb to himself. The songs were also very catchy and I could hear them naturally being sung, even though I haven't heard the audio tracks for the musical before. Also, the fact that there were only two characters made the obsession between the two boys more obvious and prominent through the way they only had each other to talk to, to rely on.

Film Review: Swoon

Most people expect films set in the 1920s to be fluffy and romantic, or even a little bit silly, but if you're looking for sweetness in Swoon then you'd be hard pressed to find a single drop. Even so, I rather enjoyed it, even if I was confused at times, not being familiar with the  Leopold-Loeb case. The whole film was a black and white nightmare that came in and out of focus and jumped scenes like a dream sequence, atmospheric, broody and surreal.

The story follows the gay relationship between Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb, two lovers with a penchant for danger and thrills. At a first glance their love is sweet yet reckless, as they kiss out in the open during homophobic times and vandalise properties, breaking glass windows and stirring up trouble. This feckless kind of life would have undoubtedly led to trouble the way they were heading, yet it seemed that they had no reason to kill a poor child, which caused their downfall and imprisonment. I felt that this wasn't very well explained in the movie, and I was left wondering what on earth made them kidnap a boy and murder him, and why they were so cool and collected about it. Either way, it was very disturbing.

 I wish there were more happy films about LGBT people set during historical times, especially in the 1920s. If anyone has any recommendations, I'd be pleased to hear them!