DARK CITY
RATING: **1/2 (out of ****)
New Line / 1:43 / 1998 / R (violence, language, nudity, muted sex) Cast: Rufus Sewell; Kiefer Sutherland; Jennifer Connelly; William Hurt; Richard O'Brien; Ian Richardson; Colin Friels; Mitchell Butel Director: Alex Proyas Screenplay: Lem Dobbs; David S. Goyer; Alex Proyas
What's worse: a movie that glows with unfulfilled promise, or one that shows no promise at all? Alex Proyas' "Dark City" falls into the former category without a doubt, and it's a shortcoming that should leave its viewers with quite a bad aftertaste. But the operative word here is "should," especially seeing as how "Dark City" is one of those cinematic experiences that sticks with and grows on you. It's still a wildly uneven film, full of ham, cheese and more than a few bouts of sporadic silliness, but it's got immense style to spare and a screenplay that's quite intriguing. I hesitate to call "Dark City" solid, or even really *good,* but if ever a two-and-a-half star film bordered so very close to mild success, it's this one.
"Dark City" takes place in, well, a dark city -- a swirling vortex of menacing ambiance, kind of like a sinister New York with all of the lights turned out. The residents of this place appear to be unaware that it always seems to be nighttime, and they move about their surroundings in an oddly detached way. Also adding to the province's sky-high weird quotient is an underworld group of beings known only as the Strangers. The Strangers are death-pale, capable of flying and possess a strange psychic power called Tuning -- they can alter physical environment just by focusing on any given object or location.
One random night, a man (Rufus Sewell) wakes up naked in a seedy motel bathtub and finds a prostitute stabbed to death in the adjoining bedroom. He has no idea who he is, how he got there or what exactly is going on, so he flees the scene promptly. The man -- who later learns his name is John Murdoch and that he's married to an estranged nightclub singer (Jennifer Connelly) -- is put at the top of a wanted list by a determined detective (William Hurt). While on the run and trying to uncover answers about his seemingly altered state, he discovers that he's a master of Tuning as well, and is also targeted by the Strangers and their human lackey (Kiefer Sutherland) who likely see Murdoch as a kink in their shady plans.
"Dark City" doesn't quite get off to a stable start, as it takes some time to adjust to the prattling manner in which Proyas introduces his cast of warped characters. The funky narrative eventually draws you in; while you're waiting, pay attention to the movie's dazzling visual flair, which emanates both film noir and science-fiction sensibilities. "Dark City" looks fantastic thanks to behind-the-scenes work from production designers George Liddle and Patrick Tatopoulos and cinematographer Dariusz Wolski; these Oscar-worthy attributes hold up even when the movie degenerates into all-out craziness towards its end, as Murdoch battles a plethora of enemies that look like they just walked off of the "Hellraiser" set.
The assembled cast is curious, to say the very least. Sewell (most widely seen in "Cold Comfort Farm") fares best in the lead, creating a protagonist who's engaging and likeable. You root for him, even though at times you're not quite sure what you're rooting for him to do. Luscious bombshell Connelly ("Inventing the Abbotts") isn't given much to do, but looks so very fine in her pseudo-period duds. While Sutherland overacts with halting speech enunciation, Hurt counteracts by deadpanning a little too dull -- these guys are interesting, but not very well played out. And as one of the more prominent Strangers, Richard O'Brien seems to have found another role destined for instant cult success; he played Riff-Raff in 1973's "The Rocky Horror Picture Show."
The middle segments of "Dark City" work fantastically, overcoming some opening and closing missteps. For the most part, the film marks a more mature, assured effort from Proyas, whose 1994 hit "The Crow" was a one-note revenge thriller that captured Brandon Lee's soulful swan song. There are some great ideas at work here (for instance, a series of final denouements that are actually quite engrossing in their explanation), but they're executed in a movie that sometimes just doesn't click. Is "Dark City" a great film? No. But does it attempt to be something more than comic book-eye candy? Yes, and it almost works.
© 1998 Jamie Peck E-mail: jpeck1@gl.umbc.edu Visit the Reel Deal Online: http://www.gl.umbc.edu/~jpeck1/
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