I watched this movie with Pete during one of his rare nights off. We were in the mood for a movie, but there was nothing he wanted to see in Redbox and nothing I wanted to see in the theaters, so we started browsing our "On Demand" options on TV. This title caught my eye since I remember my brother once saying it was the scariest movie he had EVER seen, which was saying a lot since he is pretty tough (though he was scared of Thomas the Tank Engine as a kid, so then again, maybe not =).
Pete agreed to watch it so we fired it up. In short - I LOVED THIS MOVIE!!! Yes, it was very scary and I did sleep with my nightstand lamp on for a fews days after I watched it, but I am so, so glad that I did.
Quick summary: a bicycle courier named Jim (Cillian Murphy) wakes up from a coma in a London hospital only to find the city deserted and in shambles. He eventually runs into a guy and girl around his age and gets some of the scoop - the majority of the population has been obliterated by something called "RAGE," a virus spread via blood and saliva that turns those infected into violent, zombie-like destructors. Those who survived live in total fear and isolation, moving about only during the daytime when they are less likely to be attacked. Once the virus is contracted, the window of time between remaining normal and turning into a blood vomiting psycho is only about 20 seconds, so if you're with a family member or loved one who gets infected, unfortunately you have to club them, and club them fast.
Some of the shots in this movie are absolutely breathtaking in an unnerving sort of way, like Jim wandering around the deserted streets of London in his hospital scrubs, or Jim on the roof of the hotel covered by various colors and shapes of plastic containers in attempts to catch rainwater. To describe my favorite scene would be to give too much away, so you'll just have to watch it.
As interesting as it is to see the trio try to navigate throughout the hidden perils of the city, the movie gets even more interesting when they end up at an ancestral country mansion, the last outpost of order being run by the English Army. Unfortunately, their concept of order is comprised of some very sadistic ideas regarding how to restore the population, and suddenly those infected with RAGE are no longer the worst enemy.
At this point in his career, Danny Boyle had directed a small number of movies but was most famous for Trainspotting. Since then, he has gained notoriety for directing Millions, Sunshine, 28 Weeks Later (a sequel to 28 Days...), and, most notably, Slumdog Millionaire and 127 Hours. Both films were nominated for Best Picture, and Slumdog won him the award as well as a statue for Best Director.
I think if I could be any living director, it would be Danny Boyle. His films are astoundingly diverse in subject matter and tone, yet they still have that lingering whiff of their maker's cologne that mark them all as his. I could spot a Coen Brothers film from a mile away with a blindfold on, and probably a Scorsese film as well, but a Danny Boyle film would be much more difficult to pick out, and I appreciate this, as much as I love the noticeable mark of a well-developed auteur.
Also, a note on Cillian Murphy - though I haven't seen him in many films, I want to put it out there that I think he is one of the most underrated actors of today. Despite remarkable blue eyes and an almost pretty face, he has the ability to be quite the chameleon, and can act both vulnerable and gritty with equal convincingness. I would love to see more of him, as I truly think he could do anything. If you're looking for another movie to get your Cillian Murphy fix, I would recommend The Wind That Shakes the Barley, which I discussed briefly in an earlier post.
I think my favorite thing about this movie is that amongst all the blood and gore and human perversity is a subtle strain of hope, hope that there are some people who will still do the decent thing under even the most extreme duress. Selena, one of Jim's fellow survivors, responds tartly to his idealism with the quip "Plans are pointless. Staying alive's as good as it gets." But what's beautiful is that not even she believes this. There's a difference between staying alive and being alive, and a difference between survival and truly living, and the movie both celebrates and explores this distinction.
What the NY Times has to say: "but what lingers is a curious sweetness. Mr. Boyle has hardly lost his sly, provacative perversity or his ear for the rhythms of unchecked violence, but he does seem to be maturing. It's as if, in contemplating the annihilation of the human race, he has discovered his inner humanist." - A. O. Scott
Bottom Line: WATCH IT.
Starring Johnny Depp.
This movie is hardly worth discussing, especially after writing about a very good movie that I actually liked. After Pete and I watched 28 Days Later, my roommates got home and wanted to watch a movie all together. I voted for watching something that would make me feel better and dilute my fear, but when the movie for that job was voted to be Flipper, I quickly settled for the other top choice The Secret Window (those who know me know there's nothing I hate more than animal movies, except for maybe Christmas movies).
The Secret Window is based on a Stephen King short story, and is about a post-divorce, lonely writer who gets accused by an Amish-hat wearing weirdo that he stole his story. Lots of typical creepy things ensue, like noises in the night throughout his abandoned cabin, or finding his dead and mutilated cat on the doorstep. Seems like the Amish stranger means business!! All the creepiness/violence escalates until poor Johnny Depp is a stylishly-disheveled wreck of a man (not that he was ever anything but). What is going on?! Did he really steal the man's story? Is his ex-wife's new lover trying to intimidate him? Will he ever be able to write in peace again?
SPOILER ALERT: As it turns out, HE IS the Amish-hat-wearing man, and has been all along! After buying the hat at a garage sale, he invented this character as a crazy alter-ego who could do all the dark things that he apparently wanted to do but couldn't (like kill his own cat???) He needed to embody this man in order to carry out his ULTIMATE dark desire, which is to kill his cheating wife. He does this, and kills her new lover too, and buries them in the yard and plants a garden over it. Apparently he gets away with all this, except for now the towns people are all jumpy around him, and he can't pick up a date at the supermarket to save his soul.
This movie was filled with all sorts of cliches and could not be saved even by the very likable Johnny Depp. While my fears were not entirely diluted, I did feel a bit better, since the whole thing was too ridiculous to be really scary, and also, who could be afraid of Johnny Depp? Reminds me of that other likeable-star-kills-his-fictitious-wife-movie, What Lies Beneath, with Harrison Ford and Michelle Pfeiffer. Again, I couldn't be scared once I began suspecting that Harrison Ford was the bad guy because, honestly, he's Harrison Ford.
What the NY Times has to say: Didn't bother to find out, but it probably ain't good.
Bottom Line: Don't see this movie, unless it's between that and Flipper.
