Shu-hack-er blows it again!
8 MM Reviewed by Vince Yim At theatres everywhere
Someone please tell me why David Fincher didn't direct this one.
8 MM stars Nicolas Cage as a Tom Watts, a private investigator who is called in after an elderly woman discovers her late husband owned an 8mm film depicting a teenage girl being raped and murdered. While such footage can easily be staged, Watts' task is twofold: to find out if the footage is real, and to find out who is responsible if the footage is real. To do this, Watts must delve into the world of underground porn where moving images of any deviant sexual act can be obtained for the right price. While Watts' task is difficult, maintaining his grip on his morals and sanity will be even harder.
The film has a lot of promise, mostly due to the clout achieved by the screenwriter, Andrew Kevin Walker, who is best known for his collaboration with director David Fincher for the dark and disturbing Se7en. Both films feature the protagonist facing off against really sick and twisted individuals, being completely morally annihilated at each of the films' conclusions. As well, 8 MM features Nicolas Cage, a very capable actor.
However, with director Joel Schumacher at the helm, anything can happen. While many are still stinging from the atrocity known as Batman and Robin, Schumacher has proven himself to be a capable film director, with such inventive films as The Lost Boys and Falling Down. But after watching this film, the opening question remains: why wasn't David Fincher selected to direct this film?
Fincher's harrowing style was especially suited to the dark and disturbing nature of Walker's screenplay in Se7en. The end result was a powerful psychological thriller that had an extremely unsettling effect on the audience. Unfortunately, one would be hard pressed to find that in 8 MM.
While the dark atmosphere of 8 MM is firmly established, the film is ultimately a haphazardly paced, with a lot of storyline elements that are practically tacked on. The serial killer depicted in the film comes off as very unthreatening when revealed at the end, the characters leave the audience emotionally detached, and some of the dialogue makes for many unintentionally humorous moments. At least one Hollywood insider report states that Walker was displeased with the direction of the film and wished for his name to be taken off the credits. Unfortunately for him, that never happened.
Admittedly, the film does have its moments. Joaquin Phoenix shines as Max, an adult bookstore employee and Watts' guide into the underground world of pornography. The film also has a few intentionally humorous moments and a few cringe-inducing scenes reminiscent of Se7en. Unfortunately, as a whole, they aren't enough to save the film.
I wanted to enjoy this movie. I really did. Unfortunately, the film fails to match up with the high standards left with Walker's screenplay in Se7en. While 8 MM isn't completely unwatchable, the film isn't memorable either. Save your money and wait for the video.
Rating: 5/10 --
The review above was posted to the
rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup (de.rec.film.kritiken for German reviews).
The Internet Movie Database accepts no responsibility for the contents of the
review and has no editorial control. Unless stated otherwise, the copyright
belongs to the author.
Please direct comments/criticisms of the review to relevant newsgroups.
Broken URLs inthe reviews are the responsibility of the author.
The formatting of the review is likely to differ from the original due
to ASCII to HTML conversion.
Related links: index of all rec.arts.movies.reviews reviews