Cult Cinema Club Review: Talk Radio
Talk Radio
Director: Oliver Stone
With: Eric Bogosian, Alec Baldwin, Ellen Greene, Leslie Hope, John C. McGinley
15, 104mins
Warning: Contains Spoilers
As part of somewhere to_re:store Cardiff's Cult Cinema Club, I was invited to watch a very topical cult film from 1988 called Talk Radio - This was based on a real life event that was novelised into the play Talked To Death: The Life And Murder Of Alan Berg
Naturally with an interest in radio broadcasting from an early age, I was eager to sample the story that this film held.
Low and behold my amateur expertise was used prior to the screening, as we tried to get the PA system to work - thankfully after a bit of deduction, the film came alive in full FM-stereo separated, no static sound.... I don't know whether this will be the end of my obligatory radio references for now in this review, but we shall see...
To begin, we are hit by the powerful in-your-face voice and persona of our main character, Jewish radio presenter Barry Champlain (Played by Eric Bogosian) of the Talk Radio show, projecting his often rude and overpowering put-downs to his listeners over the air from a station in Dallas, Texas.
Throughout the story, Barry Champlain is constantly torn from one issue to another, as well as an undercurrent of hatred that develops from his reflecting of people's own problems and issues back at him.
We can tell immediately that this isn't an easy job by any means - we also find that he has a both comical but sometimes alarmingly free-reign over his output.
Whilst he certainly isn't an angel by any means (with radio etiquette also being sacrificed constantly from day one to shape-up those on the other end of the line) early success got the better of him, leading him off the straight-and-narrow, and now only reflecting what his listeners project at him from their own broken-down lives.
The scenes jump from cliffhanger to comical moment and back again almost as often as the caller selector switches on Barry's studio control panel are pressed.
The feeling always at the back of your mind is... something has to break.
The success of his show (measured mainly in heated or insane reactions from mostly hostile callers and listeners) projects him to the big time, leading station manager Dan (played by Alec Baldwin) about to syndicate his show nationally.
Added to this the return of his ex-wife begging him to return, along with reflections of his life of the excesses of radio show fame and fortune, the delays on the nationwide syndication of his show, and the unhappiness he feels at his self-perpetuated situation - this pushes Barry to breaking point - a breaking point that pushes at least one of his fans too far.
With very little rest-bite, the same self-perpetuated battle between insanity and fear in the world, verses his own ideas of right and wrong continues with the microphone as his weapon of choice - this reaches a crescendo when he realises his ghastly mistakes of perpetuating fear, but also sends out a stark message about the world's own darkness that he was dragged into. This is where he also tells his ex-wife to leave, for he doesn't need protecting any more.
Things eventually return to a quiet normality at the station, with every member of the crew and listeners thanking him for what he does - with the highest rating for a talk show confirmed with that dreadful moment now out of the way, he starts to head out to his car whilst talking to his true partner about the events that have unfolded for him... unfortunately he is shot by a fan in the car park.
The film ends with listeners and colleagues paying tribute to him over the air, as well as discussing the issues that surrounded his show and his death.
All in all, there are many topical issues that are still relevant for today that appear in the film Talk Radio; it is worth the time to watch - and to realise how little has actually changed because we let our hate and fear of the world get the better of us through trivialities and doing the rounds with problems that actually require us to look into the mirror to see what we need to do to make ourselves better people first.
I can't finish this review though without saying that this also reflects the sorry state of broadcasting even today where originality, creativity and public service has been replaced by an emotionless, dehumanised drive for ratings, products and fame for the sake of it.
The moral of the story: Have fun out there, but be very careful that it isn't at the cost of other people who often are in need of help as you in your life struggles.
All that is left for me to say in a radio voice is I'm David Malins and stay tuned for more reviews...
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