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Dark City

Dark City: Director’s Cut

A successful homage to German Expressionist work of the silent film era such as Metropolis while still incorporating a wholly original story, Alex Proyas’ sci-fi triumph has style to spare, with its magnificent cinematography and stunning set design combining to form a true work of art.  Detailing a man who literally wakes up with no memory, only to realize that he lives in a world controlled by aliens who seek to isolate the human soul in order to save their species by tampering with people’s memories, one of the strongest story points is in how the viewer garners a measure of sympathy for the “Strangers” and their ultimate goal: One cannot blame them for wanting self-preservation, even if many of their tactics are unethical by nature.  The film’s main, and only real drawback is in the lead performance by Rufus Sewell as John Murdoch: Sewell’s passive wooden performance doesn’t signify a man desperate and at his wit’s end as he should be, but instead a guy who discovers one shocking truth after another and yet seems to take it in stride in a somewhat unrealistic fashion.  As a result, we are never completely drawn into his plight the way we should be, and maintain a sense of confidence throughout that he will win out in the end (never a good thing to have in neo-noir).  The rest of the cast comes off a lot better: William Hurt brings his usual detached bemusement to the role of the police inspector investigating the strange goings-on, maintaining a sense of cool while still projecting inner torment at not being able to understand what is going on; Jennifer Connelly looks as hot as ever as Murdoch’s concerned wife, refusing to believe that the love she has for her husband is nothing more than an illusion; Colin Friels makes the most of his small part of a cop driven mad by what he sees as his reality crashing around him; Melissa George is particularly hot and sexy as an ill-fated prostitute; Ian Richardson is suitably imposing as The Strangers’ collective leader, Mr. Book; and Kiefer Sutherland delivers a wonderful character performance as the physically misshapen scientist forced to assist the Strangers with their “experiment”: Seemingly channeling the best parts of Caligari and Rotwang yet bringing his own unique spin to the character, Sutherland actually makes a convincing case to the viewer that his Dr. Daniel Schreber is really the true hero of the story, in the way that he compels Murdoch to discover his true powers and abilities to take on The Strangers in one final battle.  Remarkably, this show actually winds up being stolen by Richard O’Brien, in the best role he’s had since his Rocky Horror heyday, as Mr. Hand, perhaps the most prominent member of The Strangers.  Succeeding as a menacing presence in the early stages of the film, the character’s turning point comes when he has himself imprinted with the memories of the murderer that Murdoch was supposed to be: O’Brien brilliantly conveys this alien being wrestling with the burden of a human perspective being forced into his psyche, and it was cool to see Proyas give him somewhat of a curtain call at the end when all was said and done.  Overall, an amazing achievement that is only partially marred by its lead actor…

9/10

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