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If you caught director Eric Stanze’s description in our first issue (see
MICRO-FILM #1, p.27), you knew as much about SCRAPBOOK as I did going
into this unflinching account of backwoods serial killer Leonard (Tommy
Biondo) and his treatment of tougher-than-thou hostage Clara (Emily
Haack). Leonard exorcises small-time delusions of grandeur by forcing
his victims to write about their Leonard-inflicted traumas in his
scrapbook before they die. He
is an unstoppable, unnerving psycho as much as he is an ignorant lout
that could possibly be derailed by someone with brains and steely nerves
on their side. Will new “co-author” Clara be so lucky? I came close to
not finding out. Because of its tone, I almost had to turn away from
SCRAPBOOK. What this effort shares with John McNaughton’s HENRY (a much
subdued film by comparison) is an unflinching documentary-like eye,
bluntly portraying the madness “as is” and making the viewer judge the proceedings.
Leonard bugged me because of the character’s realistic portrayal by
scenarist Biondo (who spent several years researching real-life cases
for the role) and the violence he heaps upon Clara without mercy. The
young woman somehow fights back by tangling with Leonard’s mental
weaknesses via her scrapbook entries, a tricky yet plausible tactic that
is only undermined by the fact that we’re not really told much about
her, and therefore remain skeptical as to how she could possibly survive
the abuse. There’s also an awkward duality here (Leonard dominates the
first hour before Clara’s resourcefulness kicks in) that feels a bit
staged, but what transpires at face value is so raw and powerful that it
overshadows the film’s dramatic shortcomings.
SCRAPBOOK should be commended for not glamorizing or stylizing its
subject matter. With that said, watch if you dare, but watch at your
own risk.
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