A crime writer best-known for his novel L.A. Confidential, James Ellroy is one of the more eccentric and intense figures on the American literary scene. After numerous articles and E! documentaries, his personal story is well-known. When he was ten years old, his mother was murdered by an unknown assailant. This event became an obsession for him, shaping the brutally dark underworlds he envisions in his work, particularly his book Black Dahlia, based on a famously unsolved murder of a young starlet found in a vacant lot in 1947. Following up on his Academy Award-winning
When We Were Kings, Vikram Jayanti follows Ellroy through his grisly obsessions and eventful life. The core of the film is centered around a series of dinners he has with a few of his cop buddies, eating steak and discussing murders. Along the way, Ellroy is seen visiting the site of Kennedy's assassination, through his Kansas City home, and through his favorite L.A. seedy nightspots. This film was screened at the 2001 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide