I consider myself to be an amateur "expert" on the Manson Family/Murders.
This film has some historical inaccuracies (Linda Kasabian drove the murderers on both nights). But despite a few technical errors, it is a sensitive fiction of how the women came to grips with what they had done.
But before you feel sorry for the Manson Girls know these facts:
Susan Atkins had an extensive rap sheet long before knowing Manson.
Patricia Krenwinkel and Leslie Van Houten were street-wise acid heads prior to falling under Manson's "spell".
So don't be fooled into thinking that this trio were sweet, innocent virgins. Manson ordered the killings to appear as copy-cat murders to free Bobby (who appears early in the movie and would later kill musician Garry Hinman, along with Susan Atkins)
It was refreshing to see a portrayal of Charlie that was not evil incarnate.
Manson was nuts, but not a 24/7 paranoid psychopath. This portrayal is probably closer to the truth.
I enjoyed it immensely. But we will never know the complete truth about the two nights of mayhem in August, 1969.
Review of Charlie Says
