1939 is often regarded as Hollywood's peak year. "Gone With The Wind",
"The Wizard of Oz", "Mr. Smith Goes To Washington", and "Stagecoach"
among others all were released in that short period of time along with
France's "The Rules of the Game" along as a bonus. Those are all
bonafide classics, but I've always thought of 1998 as a year filled with
top notch entertainment. "Saving Private Ryan", "Pleasantville", "The
Truman Show", "There's Something About Mary", "Out Of Sight", "The Big
Lebowski", "Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels", "Rushmore", and
"Blues Brothers 2000" have all made lasting impressions on me, and
that's not counting the other great 1998 films I haven't yet watched.
I'm aware now that 1998 was the year I started to notice non-Disney
films so those 12 months of movies hold a special place in my mind.
"Dark
City" was Roger Ebert's pick for "Best Movie of 1998", (Siskel's was
"Babe: Pig In The City", another 1998 classic I haven't yet seen). It's
also one of the few DVD's he's done a commentary track for, indicating
his support and love for it. I've always been interested in seeing it;
I'd only heard that it was similar to "The Matrix", but better and
released earlier. I also dig those mindbending sci-fi thrillers in the
vein of "Minority Report", "Vanilla Sky", and the 1960's classic
"Seconds" (See Seconds NOW).
Anyway after not only watching
"Dark City" for the very first time, but also choosing to indulge in the
11 minute extra "Director's Cut" for my first taste of the movie, I
feel like the case for 1998 being a golden year for cinema has just
gotten a little stronger. This movie is a trip. The title is pretty
literal, the setting is a "Dark City", and this dark city is home to
some of the most engrossing effects I've ever seen. You can keep your
Avatar, here director Alex Proyas has buildings grow and shape
themselves like organic objects in his 1930's film noir town. You are
thrown right in without a net right from the start as it seems to be a
noirish detective story. A man wakes up in a hotel tub with amnesia,
next to a dead body. As he struggles to figure out what's going on, we
do too..., but all of a sudden things go kind of crazy and you realize
this is a totally different world you're dealing with. Answers don't
come fast and they don't come easy. By the end, there is a bit of
exposition to fill in some of the blanks that appear, but while that
helps answer some questions, it also raises lots more.
As I
watched more and more, I realized what made "Dark City" stand out from
other similar movies of its time period was its overall feel and design.
Proyas was hugely influenced by the silent German expressionistic
movies of the early part of the 20th century. The city in this movie is
vast and mysterious, and becomes almost terrifying once you see it grow
and morph. There is no sun and the constant electrical light adds a lot
to the atomsphere. There were times where I was reminded of Terry
Gilliam's "Brazil", especially during the chase scenes. Thinking your
safe, but then realizing you are not where you supposed you were is a
terrifying feeling.
There's a great cast including Rufus Sewell,
Jennifer Connolly, Kiefer Sutherland, and William Hurt (who, like
Michael Caine, makes any movie better; example: Mr. Brooks). Sewell and
Connolly both do fine work, but their characters aren't very
interesting. Hurt is a police detective and no one plays a noble
authority figure like William Hurt. He fits perfectly into this mashed
up film noirish world. Kiefer Sutherland, in between his roles as the
raging a-hole in "Stand By Me" and Jack Bauer is almost unrecognizable
as a sort of Quasimodo psych doctor who knows the secrets of the city.
He's really fun to watch and even as his character is somewhat over the
top, he manages to underplay that. There's also a character who's a
former policeman, who's going crazy because he's started to realize what
wrong with their world. Apparently Proyas was going to base the story
around this character, but flipped it to focus on Sewell's "fugitive"
character instead to make it less analytical and more emotional. Well
the crazy police guy is also fun to watch and fills his scenes
perfectly.
The plot itself is more a story to ponder than to
watch. Halfway through I realized I wasn't that interested in what was
happening, I just wanted to find out the answers to what was going on.
It also stuck me fascinating just how many "This isn't what you think it
is" stories were produced in the late '90s-early '00s period. At
various points I was reminded of the inferior "Thirteenth Floor", "The
Truman Show", and "Vanilla Sky". There's also a fantastic "Twilight
Zone" episode referenced in "Vanilla Sky" that also falls into this sort
of genre. "Shadow Play" with Dennis Weaver, about a guy on death row
claiming that the world is only his recurring nightmare he has over and
over. As a piece of art, "Dark City" is 5 stars, fantastic. It wasn't
nominated for any Oscars, not even an Art Direction one, which is
ridiculous. As a story however, it has its faults, which is why I still
love "The Truman Show" and "Pleasantville" much more
No comments:
Post a Comment