Starkweather
Genre: Crime/Biography/Romance
Director: Sean Durkin
Writer: Lon Charles
Cast: Jacob Elordi, Sadie Sink, Paul Sparks, Martha Plimpton, Will Patton, Molly Ringwald, Chris Zylka, Stanley Simons, Hannah Kepple, Lochlyn Munro, Patrick Warburton, Henry Czerny
Plot: 1957. Lincoln, Nebraska.
Charles Starkweather (Jacob Elordi) is walking from his job at a local newspaper warehouse, where he makes minimum wage bundling newspapers for shipment. He walks past Whittier Junior High School, where he meets eyes with Caril Ann Fugate (Sadie Sink). Tired from work, Charles is about to continue walking, but taken by Caril, he turns around and makes a beeline for her. He begins talking to her. Caril's friends want to leave, but Caril tells them to go on without her. Charles walks Caril home from school. She asks him why he doesn't drive. Charles is slightly annoyed by the question, but simply says that walking is healthier for the body. Caril asks Charles if he will teach her to drive. They arrive at Caril's house, where they find Caril's mother Velda Bartlett (Molly Ringwald) watching through the window suspiciously. Caril tells Charles that it is okay if he doesn't have a car to take her out in. Charles assures her that he knows how to drive and has his own car. Caril smiles and suggests he pick her up from school tomorrow in his car. When Caril goes inside her house, her mother grills her on who the man she was with is. Caril smiles to herself and says just some boy.
That night over dinner Charles asks his father Guy Starkweather (Paul Sparks) if he can borrow his car the next day to take a girl out. Guy refuses, saying that Charles can use the car when he goes back to school and graduates from high school. Charles blows up, throwing his dinner plate against the wall. Charles' mother Helen Starkweather (Martha Plimpton) starts to clean up the mess. Guy tells her to stop cleaning, yelling at Charles that he needs to clean up his own mess. Charles wakes up at dawn the next morning and sneaks into his parents' bedroom. He steals the keys to his father's car.
Charles excitedly waits in the driver's seat of the car parked in front of the high school. When the final bell ends, Caril is among the mass exodus of teenagers for the day. Charles finally spots Caril in the crowd and begins honking the car horn until he has her attention. They drive around Lincoln getting to know each other. When Caril mentions that she hasn't learned how to drive yet, Charles tells her to sit in his lap and he will teach her. She begins driving the car nervously. Charles gives Caril a kiss, which distracts her and she crashes the car into a fire hydrant. Water bursts up into the air from the broken hydrant. Charles and Caril flee from the car, getting soaked in the process. Charles walks Caril home from the crash scene, holding her hand the entire time.
Caril goes inside her house where she is immediately slapped by her stepfather, Marion Bartlett (Will Patton), for being out with a man instead of coming home after school. Velda wants to know how old Charles is. Caril says that Charles isn't that much older than her. Caril is sent to her room without dinner that night.
When Charles returns home, he finds boxes of his belongings in the front yard. He tries going inside, but his key no longer works. Charles punches through a window in order to get into the house. His parents tell him that stealing the car and crashing it was the final straw. He is no longer welcome in their home. Charles moves like he's going to attack his father, who flinches. This makes Charles laugh. He then leaves the house without any more incident.
Charles soon quits his job at the newspaper warehouse, getting a higher paying job as a trash collector for the city. The new job allows Charles to rent a room in a boarding house near Caril's school. Charles takes Caril on a date to the local drive-in theater, which is playing Charles' favorite movie - Rebel Without a Cause. After the movie, Charles tells Caril how great it would be to be like James Dean's character in the film. Caril tries to argue that James Dean wasn't a good guy in the movie. Charles won't hear it though. He pulls a comb out of his pocket and combs his hair like James Dean's. Charles drops Caril off at home before returning to the boarding house. Charles finds himself locked out with a note stating that he is late on that week's rent. Charles opens his wallet, finding it empty after splurging on the date with Caril. At home, Caril's parents are furious that she is still seeing Charles and forbid her from ever going out with him again. Caril gets into a screaming match with her parents.
Charles goes to a gas station and considers robbing it. He goes inside unarmed to scope the place out. He sees a small stuffed toy dog. He asks the cashier, Robert Colvert (Chris Zylka), if he could get it on credit for his girlfriend. Colvert tells Charles they don't give people credit there. Charles pleads with Colvert, saying it would be a personal favor to him. Colvert once again declines and asks Charles to leave. Charles is furious. He sneaks into his parents' house and steals his father's shotgun. Charles returns to the gas station with a bandana covering most of his face. He jabs the shotgun in Colvert's face and tells him to empty the cash register into a bag. Colvert nervously does as Charles says. Charles then orders Colvert to open the safe under the counter. Colvert says only his boss knows the combination. Charles grabs the stuffed toy dog and puts it in the bag of money. Charles then suspents that Colvert could identify him from earlier. Charles tells Colvert they are going for a ride. Charles makes Colvert drive out into the farmlands just outside the city. Charles shoots Colvert in the back of the head with the shotgun, leaving the body on the side of the road.
Some time later, Charles arrives at the Fugate residence to give Caril the stuffed toy dog. Velda answers the door and refuses to let Charles in to see Caril. He tries to wedge his way in, but Velda begins hitting him. Marion then comes over and kicks Charles in the chest, sending him falling down the porch steps. Caril comes out of her room and begins screaming at her mother. Charles brushes himself off and gets a hunting rifle from his car. He walks back to the house. Marion has armed himself with a claw hammer and swings it at Charles, who instinctively pulls the rifle's trigger, sending a .22 round directly through Marion's skull. Velda screams out and runs to the kitchen where she grabs a knife. Velda rushes toward Charles. Caril calls out to warn Charles. Charles shoots Velda in the chest, sending her flying to the floor. Charles and Caril drag Velda's body to an outhouse behind the house and Marion's to the chicken coop. They clean up the blood and mess inside. They lay in Caril's bed where they have sex for the first time.
After a few days of playing house together with the corpses of Caril's parents slowly rotting outside in the Nebraska winter, Charles and Caril realize that they had better skip town. They drive away from Lincoln. Charles tells Caril that he has an old friend, August Meyer, who lives on a farm outside the city and may be able to help them.
Meanwhile, police arrive at the Caril's family's residence for a welfare check after Marion's employer reported him missing. The police are disturbed when they find Velda's corpse in the outhouse and Marion's corpse in the chicken coop. Sheriff Karnopp (Lochlyn Munro) arrives on the scene and calls it the most heinous crime scene he’s seen since taking office. Caril Ann Fugate and her boyfriend Charles Starkweather are immediate suspects in the case.
Charles turns the car onto a dirt road that leads to Meyer's farm, but the car gets mired in the mud. Charles gets out of the car and tells Caril to wait there while he goes to see Meyer alone. Caril lounges in the backseat of Charles' car listening to the radio when she hears a couple gunshots ring out from Meyer's farm. In the distance she sees Charles running back toward the car. When he gets back to the car, out of breath, Charles tells Caril that they need to keep going and ditch the car. As they walk, Charles explains to Caril that Meyer threatened to turn them into the police and pulled out a gun. The gun backfired and Charles was able to shoot him first. Charles adds that he grabbed a gun and some money from Meyer's house before he left.
With their guns hidden, Charles and Caril manage to hitch a ride with young couple Bobby Jensen (Stanley Simons) and Carol King (Hannah Kepple). Charles and Caril hop into the backseat. Charles quickly pulls out a shotgun and presses it against the back of Jensen's head. Charles forces Jensen to drive back toward Meyer's farm. King tries to plead with Charles, suggesting they keep her boyfriend's car and just leave them by the side of the road. Caril tells King to shut up. Once they arrive at Meyer's property, Charles directs Jensen to park near an old storm cellar. Charles and Caril force Jensen and King out of the car and down into the dusty cellar. Charles rips at King's shirt, exposing her bra. Jensen shoves at Charles, who empties six rounds from a handgun into him. Caril pulls out a knife and begins stabbing King repeatedly in the torso. King, despite the stab wounds, is still alive. She lets out a garbled scream and squirms on the cellar's dirt floor. Caril pulls King's jeans and underwear down around her ankles. Caril angrily points at King's groin and asks Charles if that's what he really wants instead of her. Charles shoots King in the head, ending her suffering. Charles grabs Caril by the face and violently kisses her. Caril undresses and Charles pushes her to the floor between the bodies of Jensen and King. Charles then climbs on top of Caril.
Charles and Caril clean themselves up in Meyer’s farmhouse. Caril sees Meyer’s dead body on the floor, but is unphased by the sight. Charles and Caril soon drive away from the farm in Jensen’s car. Charles and Caril discuss where they should go next. Charles suggests they go northwest towards Washington where his brother lives. Caril says they need to get money before they plan anything big. Charles says that he knows of a rich part of town in Lincoln where they could rob someone before leaving Nebraska once and for all. Driving back into Lincoln, Caril wonders if anyone has found her parents yet. Charles turns the car down the street and see a swarm of police cars parked around the property. Charles quickly steers the car away from the scene. Charles points out what he believes to be the biggest house in all of Lincoln - the home of C. Lauer Ward. They knock at the door. When the maid answers, Charles and Caril burst inside. Charles searches for the homeowners while Caril kills the maid with a knife. Charles sees a woman in the kitchen and throws a knife into her back before she can turn around. Charles begins ransacking the house for valuables and tells Caril to pack up some food for their trip out of Nebraska. They are soon interrupted by the arrival of the man of the house. Charles promptly shoots him in the face with a shotgun. As they leave the house, Charles spots the Lincoln Journal on the Wards’ front porch. He is excited to see their faces on the front page of the newspaper. He tells Caril to grab the newspaper so she can read it to him as they drive away toward Washington. Charles and Caril drive all night in a car stolen from the Ward property. They drive west, crossing over into Wyoming at dawn.
Sheriff Karnopp is informed that Charles Starkweather's car was found at a farm outside Lincoln and three dead bodies were found on the property. Believing his police force does not have the manpower to protect every square inch of Lincoln, Sheriff Karnopp buys up a bunch of weapons and begins distributing them around town to men at bars and restaurants to help keep the city safe.
The bodies of the Wards and their maid are quickly discovered. A close friend of the family, Nebraska Governor Victor E. Anderson (Patrick Warburton), immediately orders the Nebraska National Guard to deploy to Lincoln. Before long, the Nebraska National Guard cruises through Lincoln with jeeps armed with mounted machine guns. The city is ordered to be completely sealed off with roadblocks set up at every road in or out of town. Sheriff Karnopp orders a block by block search for the car Starkweather and Fugate stole from the Ward residence.
Believing they need to find a different car now that they are in Wyoming, Charles tells Caril to be on the lookout. She points out a car parked along the side of the road. Charles pulls over next to the car and gets out to take a look. Inside is a sleeping traveling shoe salesman. Charles knocks on the window. When the salesman unrolls the window, Charles shoots him in the head. Charles yells for Caril to bring their things into the new car. Charles pushes the salesman's body over to the passenger side and starts the car. Charles tries to drive away, but the car's emergency brake is on and he cannot figure out how to disengage it.
While Charles continues to fumble with the car's controls, a police car pulls up behind them. Caril gets out of the car and holds her hands up in the air as she runs toward the police car. Charles panics and runs to the other car and speeds away. The police detain Caril and call in for a roadblock. Charles barrels down the road, maxing out the speed of the car. He sees a roadblock set up in front of him but keeps speeding toward it. One of the officers fires a rifle shot through the car's windshield, shattering it, and sending a piece of glass slashing across his ear. Charles feels the blood dripping down the side of his face. He stops the car, thinking he's been shot. Charles gets out of the car as police surround him. They tell Charles to put his hands up, but he doesn't. They fire a warning shot at his feet. They now tell him to lie down on the ground. Charles reaches behind his back to tuck in his shirttail, but the police believe he is grabbing a gun and tackle him to the ground.
Back in Nebraska, a team of lawyers try to cobble together an insanity defense for Charles, but he refuses to go along with it, maintaining that he was completely sane. Charles tries to explain his side that being insane is worse than being a cold-blooded murderer. When being interviewed, Charles at first tells all the authorities that Caril had nothing to do with the crimes, pleading with them to go easy on her.
When the trial begins before Judge Harry Spencer (Henry Czerny), Charles is resigned to his fate, fully expecting the judge to convict him and Caril to death. Once Caril takes the stand though, Charles is shocked that Caril has distanced herself from him and has begun painting herself as a victim and unwilling hostage. He tries to look her in the eyes as she says this, but she refuses to look at Charles. This breaks Charles' heart completely. He lashes out, saying that Caril could have escaped from him any time she wanted, she just never wanted to.
Charles is found guilty of two counts of first degree murder and sentenced to death by Judge Spencer. As a minor Caril is sentenced to life in prison, with Judge Spencer and the jury sparing her due to her age. Charles looks at Caril, who finally meets his eyes. After a brief moment, Caril looks away. She will never look Charles Starkweather in the eyes ever again.
Charles sits on death row awaiting his execution. The guards come by to ask what he would like for a last meal, offering him a big, juicy steak. Charles declines, stating he'd be fine with a cold sandwich. Without Caril's love, he simply doesn't care how he goes out of this world. Charles does not have any last words when he is brought to the electric chair for his execution.
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