top of page
The Murder of Nicole Brown Simpson, biographical film, biography, review, biopic

The Murder of Nicole Brown Simpson (2019)

Hot on the heels on The Haunting of Sharon Tate, director Daniel Farrands provides another example on true-crime exploitation with The Murder of Nicole Brown Simpson. Once again having little regard for the victims, this biopic combines the murders of O.J. Simpson’s ex-wife and Ron Goldman with the victims of serial killer Glen Rogers to concoct a slasher-film that is both aesthetically and morally offensive.

After opening with the cliché of a female jogger falling over while being pursued by a shadowy figure, the film cuts to the Mezzaluna Trattoria restaurant where Nicole Brown (not Simpson she insists) is telling friends Kris Jenner and Faye Resnick that her ex-husband O.J. continues to stalk her. “His footsteps are all over my garden. Size 12 Brunos”. That same level of subtlety pervades all aspects of this film including (apart from a creditable performance from Mena Suvari as Nicole Brown) the acting.


Nevertheless, despite his menacing presence, Glen from ‘here and there’ is hired by Nicole to help with some house renovations and promptly falls into bed with her. Yet she calls it quits after interrupting the painter having a late-night conversation… with himself. Somebody begins trailing Nicole. Is it O.J? Is it Glen? Is it the shadowy figure from before? Is it all three or one in the same? Who knows and more pertinently, who cares?

 

Notable only for featuring perhaps the least suspenseful chase scene in cinema history, this film’s original title was "The Haunting of Nicole Brown Simpson". This may go someway to explaining a laughable scene in which Nicole is attacked by an invisible force, leading to Mena Suvari once more flailing about on a bedroom ceiling, ala American Beauty, sans roses. The film concludes with a tasteless recreation of Nicole Brown’s murder and a reappearance of the shadowy figure.


Farrands followed up this gem with the equally exploitative Ted Bundy: American Boogeyman and Aileen Wuornos: American Boogeywoman

Faye Resnick, Agnes Bruckner, Kris Jenner, Gene Freeman, OJ Simpson
fact check, factcheck, fact vs fiction, inaccuracies, true story

Candace Jorgensen, Nicole Brown Simpson’s neighbour and victim of Glen Rogers, is a fictional character.

Mena Suvari, Nicole Brown Simpson, Nick Stahl, Glen Rogers, Taryn Manning

Film features no scene recreations.

BOMB

bottom of page