Here's an older Oliver Stone (Platoon, JFK) directed picture, which is sometimes forgotten, but very interesting both in style, character and dialogue.

"Talk Radio" is about Barry Champlain, a night time radio talk show host who has a lot of pressure to get his show picked up by national syndication. Full of pride and what he thinks is integrity, Barry finds himself at the threshold of a national deal, if he can impress the Metrolink executive who's attending a couple broadcasts to seal the deal.

However, even though Barry has a strong desire to go national, he has decided to stick with the show's current loud-mouthed, brash format and not conform to whatever parameters his producer Laura and station manager Dan feel national executives want. In addition, Barry must deal with a barage of white supremacy hate mail and death threats.

The film was co-written by Stone and playwright Eric Bogosian (Sex, Drugs and Rock and Roll, Blade: Trinity). Originally based on Bogosian's stageplay of the same title, the movie adapts most of Bogosian's storyline, but new plot points give the picture a more biographical story about Denver radio talk show host Alan Berg, who was killed by white supremacists in 1984.

The picture keeps much of Bogosian's sharp-tongued wit and brashness within its dialogue. Characters are easy to read, as far as inner motivations go.

Bogosian stars as Barry, easily rattling off his own words, while Leslie Hope (Dragonfly) plays a very fine-tuned Laura. Alec Baldwin (The Cooler) offers his standard supporting performance, while John C. McGinley (TV's Scrubs, Identity) gives a memorable mode to his role as Barry's loyal, daring and wacky DJ/sound engineer Stu.

One of the better performances comes from Ellen Greene (Little Shop of Horrors, The Professional) as Barry's ex-wife, also named Ellen, who flies in to accompany his quest for national notoriety, later admitting she still wants him.

Their relationship and backstory is well established and given proper light to. However, the reasons for her still wanting him are sketchy, see how we get nothing but reason why she left him…good reasons. So why does she still want him? My guess? He's about to go national and she wants the excitement. Basically, she reveals herself to be shallow and Barry calls her on it while on the air. That particular scene between them is almost creepy.

Stone's eye for making the inside of a radio show seem exciting was well done. At one point, when Barry has a near breakdown and blasts his loyal listeners in Act Three, he and his console are placed on a spinning stage, with a stationary camera across from him catches the background slowly passing him over and over again. The shot is nearly hypnotic and represents Barry's feeling of lost control. A good call for Stone.

This picture also shows Stone's manner of shooting a picture with an interesting perspective, while holding back enough to not lose viewers, like he did with "Any Given Sunday."

My only major criticism is, running at two hours long, the picture tends to take long scenes to focus on Barry's audience, his callers, with only nervous and daring looks at his coworkers.

His last night on the air, Dan, Laura, Ellen and Stu keep making comments of how Barry's allowing the show to "go down in flames," but I didn't get the sense his show was any worse that the previous session we were shown. Thus the response from national prospects was not a surprise to me. He had a good show, therefore he has a good result. I didn't get there was ever a chance he was in trouble.

Outside of all that, the picture is a decent, non-dated social commentary about the media and American people in general, in a Bogosian/Stone liberal perspective. However, the picture's material mostly deals with racism and antisemitism, so it doesn't feel like its out to simply blast subjects which don't need blasting.

The disc I have of the picture has very little extras except the picture in widescreen. That's enough for me. I can't think of another movie to compare this too, so you'r liking of this is completely up in the air to me. I suggest you see it and see where it lands with you.

Benn - Where's the Humanity?