Welcome to History Lesson, where we take a closer look at the movies that dare to tackle real-life events with varying levels of accuracy, drama, and WTF casting choices. These films promise to educate and entertain, but more often than not, they rewrite history with the subtlety of a sledgehammer. We’ll be your guide through the land of miscast biopics, dramatic embellishments, and historical “inspired-by” liberties, breaking down whether these flicks are Golden Reel Award-worthy masterpieces or just a big-budget Wikipedia summary. Either way, it’s more fun than your high school history class—and there’s popcorn.
This time around we will take a look at Season 12's fact-based slate....
HISTORY LESSON: TORSO
Denis Villeneuve’s Torso takes us back to 1936 Cleveland — a city apparently so bleak even the Great Depression wanted out — where Jake Gyllenhaal’s Eliot Ness trades Al Capone’s bootlegging empire for a far less glamorous gig: cleaning up body parts from Lake Erie. Based on the graphic novel (and loosely on the real-life “Torso Murders”), the film blends true crime with moody noir, showcasing Cleveland as the kind of place where the sidewalks are paved with corruption and severed heads.
While Torso plays fast and loose with historical accuracy (spoiler: the real Torso Killer was never caught, and Ness definitely didn’t shoot his way out of a flaming warehouse), it captures the era’s grim aesthetic with style. Gyllenhaal broods effectively, but it’s Cameron Britton as Gaylord Sundheim — the killer hiding in plain sight — who steals the show, adding unsettling charm to a character with hobbies that include decapitation and taunting law enforcement with postcard insults. Villeneuve pulls no punches, delivering a dark, atmospheric thriller that’s one part Zodiac, one part “Cleveland, don’t visit us.” Historically fuzzy but thoroughly riveting, Torso proves that sometimes, reality is stranger — and bloodier — than fiction.
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