True Story

Beneath its generic title, elements of fact and fiction combine to create a simmering battle of wits in True Story, which offers a compelling glimpse into the convergence of journalism and the justice system.

It also showcases the dramatic range of Jonah Hill and James Franco, two actors who remind us that they’ve been nominated for Oscars even if their best-known roles are still in broad comedies.

The film is based on the true-life saga of Michael Finkel, a disgraced New York Times journalist who was fired in 2001 after he was accused of fabricating sources for a story. That makes finding another job difficult for the talented reporter until his greatest scoop falls right in his lap thanks to Christian Longo (Franco), an accused killer of his own children who was living under Finkel’s name in California before his capture, claiming he was a fan of the writer’s work.

That leads to an uneasy bond while Longo is in prison awaiting trial, with Finkel’s investigation attempting to unravel the truth behind Longo’s actions and motives while trying to rebuild his own reputation.

Both actors play a convincing cat-and-mouse game, with Franco offering a riveting courtroom testimony as the script transitions into more of a low-key legal thriller about redemption for each man.

As directed by Rupert Goold — a British theater veteran making his feature debut — it’s deliberately paced, with much more talk than action, which seems appropriate for the material but might frustrate fans of its stars.

The screenplay by David Kajganich (The Invasion), based on Finkel’s memoir, gradually develops tension while keeping its focus on the two main characters, even if it’s embellished to fit a more conventional dramatic framework.

We’ve seen many on-screen attempts to get inside the head of a journalist, and True Story feels more authentic than most, although it tends to oversimplify the difficulty of the reporting and news-gathering process. Still, the film raises some intriguing ethical questions and examines the importance of credibility to a writer’s reputation.

Ultimately, the film exists in the same gray area between fact and fiction as its source material. Yet smartly, it doesn’t let the truth interfere with a good tale.

Rated R, 100 minutes.