True Story | Rotten Tomatoes (2024)

45% Tomatometer 168 Reviews 38% Popcornmeter 10,000+ Ratings

New York Times journalist Michael Finkel (Jonah Hill) loses his job when it's revealed that he was not entirely truthful in a cover story he wrote on contemporary slave trading in Africa. His world collapses even further when he learns he's a victim of identity theft; a man named Christian Longo (James Franco) assumed Finkel's name and stood accused of murdering his own family. Seeing a way to rebuild his shattered reputation, Finkel meets with Longo to hear his story.

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True Story

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Critics Consensus

James Franco and Jonah Hill make a watchable pair, but True Story loses their performances -- and the viewer's interest -- in a muddled movie that bungles its fact-based tale.

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Critics Reviews

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True Story | Rotten Tomatoes (1) Candice Frederick Reel Talk Online ... True Story just never feels like it gets anywhere. Rated: D Sep 1, 2017 Full Review True Story | Rotten Tomatoes (2) David Sims The Atlantic Franco and Hill's early scenes together maintains intrigue for a while, but True Story never quite indicates that it has something compelling going on beneath the surface. Oct 14, 2015 Full Review True Story | Rotten Tomatoes (3) Mark Kermode Observer (UK) The result is disappointingly televisual, the verdict wholly predictable. Rated: 2/5 Jul 19, 2015 Full Review True Story | Rotten Tomatoes (4) David Bax Battleship Pretension Unfortunately, all the fine work being done by Hill and Franco is, in effect, bulldozed by Goold and David Kajganich's screenplay... Jan 20, 2021 Full Review True Story | Rotten Tomatoes (5) Mike Massie Gone With The Twins Mind games, poetic symbolism, moving observations, and humorous notes compose an utterly mesmerizing script. Rated: 8/10 Dec 4, 2020 Full Review True Story | Rotten Tomatoes (6) Chris McCoy Memphis Flyer It's a worthy addition to the true crime genre -- even if it leaves viewers questioning the meaning of "true." Jan 9, 2020 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Jacques B Underrated and a hidden gem for some. Critics will say this movie didn’t get anywhere, but it does a lot of things very well. As a fan of the cast (Jonah and Franco) this was a refreshing and intriguing film for sure, it’s not perfect but a good watch nonetheless. Rated 4/5 Stars • Rated 4 out of 5 stars 05/10/24 Full Review donnie m i can't get past how James Franco talks-his tounge hits the roof of his mouth and he's WAY too dramatic in a bad way Rated 0.5/5 Stars • Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 05/06/24 Full Review KB B Considering the cast I thought it would be much better. I can't recommend this one and won't watch it again. Rated 2.5/5 Stars • Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/26/24 Full Review fob1xxl Teriffic acting . Not a pleasant topic. Good film, not great, but good. Rated 4/5 Stars • Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/30/24 Full Review Terry H Felt a bit flat to me. It's the story of a disgraced journalist out for redemption by meeting with and writing the story of a man in jail for killing his family. The movie plays on the dynamics between them and the motivations each have. I can see what they were trying to do, they just didn't pull it off well. Still, I didn't view it as a waste of time. Rated 3/5 Stars • Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/13/24 Full Review Leslie J Why the low ratings!!? This movie is great! Tells a good moral story too. Felt sorry for the guy! A must watch! Rated 5/5 Stars • Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/09/24 Full Review Read all reviews

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Cast & Crew

Rupert Goold Director Jonah Hill Michael Finkel James Franco Christian Longo Felicity Jones Jill Barker Robert John Burke Greg Ganley Gretchen Mol Karen
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Synopsis New York Times journalist Michael Finkel (Jonah Hill) loses his job when it's revealed that he was not entirely truthful in a cover story he wrote on contemporary slave trading in Africa. His world collapses even further when he learns he's a victim of identity theft; a man named Christian Longo (James Franco) assumed Finkel's name and stood accused of murdering his own family. Seeing a way to rebuild his shattered reputation, Finkel meets with Longo to hear his story.

Director
Rupert Goold

Producer
Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Anthony Katagas

Screenwriter
Rupert Goold, David Kajganich

Distributor
Fox Searchlight

Production Co
New Regency Pictures, Plan B Entertainment

Rating
R (Some Disturbing Material|Language)

Genre
Crime, Drama, Mystery & Thriller

Original Language
English

Release Date (Theaters)
Apr 17, 2015, Limited

Release Date (Streaming)
Sep 15, 2016

Box Office (Gross USA)
$4.7M

Runtime
1h 44m
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