Dial 'M' for inspiration: How American Psycho and Alias Grace's Mary Harron made murder her muse
When Harron was a teenager, this 1931 film about a child murderer changed her life
Canadian director Mary Harron has made a career out of plunging audiences into the minds of dangerous and complicated anti-heroes, and she can trace it all back to one very impactful film.
As a teenager, Harron found inspiration in an unlikely place: a black and white German film about a child murderer. M — directed by Fritz Lang and released in 1931 — is a dark vision of the hunt for a killer, played by Peter Lorre. 16-year-old Harron was fascinated by Lorre's "profound performance" and the way that the film could make her feel sorry for someone who committed terrible crimes.
Harron would go on to make work that goes deep inside the minds of very complicated characters, from her films American Psycho and I Shot Andy Warhol to the new CBC-TV miniseries Alias Grace.
In this video, Harron sits down with CBC Arts to talk about the impact that M had on her, and how telling the story of characters including a serial killer and a murderess is not about "excusing the crimes, it's not forgiving them, but it's understanding them."
Watch CBC Arts: Exhibitionists on Friday nights at 12:30 a.m. (1 NT) and Sundays at 3:30 p.m. (4 NT) on CBC Television.