THE THIRTEENTH FLOOR (Columbia) Starring: Craig Bierko, Gretchen Mol, Vincent D'Onofrio, Dennis Haysbert, Armin Mueller-Stahl. Screenplay: Josef Rusnak and Ravel Centeno-Rodriguez, based on the novel _Simulacron 3_ by Daniel Galouye. Producers: Roland Emmerich, Ute Emmerich and Marco Weber. Director: Josef Rusnak. MPAA Rating: R (violence, profanity, adult themes) Running Time: 99 minutes. Reviewed by Scott Renshaw.
It would be easier -- and kinder -- to think of THE THIRTEENTH FLOOR as a simple case of bad timing. After all, this is the fourth film in three months in which characters begin to doubt the nature of their reality, following THE MATRIX, eXistenZ and OPEN YOUR EYES. That much head-tripping could be wearying under the best of circumstances, and THE THIRTEENTH FLOOR is far from the best of circumstances. This is genre film-making at its most superficially plot-driven, compounding its shallow characterizations with a ridiculous degree of self-importance.
The story opens with the murder of Hannon Fuller (Armin Mueller-Stahl), a software engineer who has created a fully functional simulated computer world modeled after 1937 Los Angeles, complete with digital characters possessing a sense of self. One prime suspect is Fuller's partner Douglas Hall (Craig Bierko), who stands to profit most from Fuller's death and can't remember where he was at the time of the murder...or how bloody clothing ended up in his laundry. When he learns that Fuller left a message for him inside the simulation, Hall "jacks in" to the life of one of the simulation characters, and discovers that another one of the characters (Vincent D'Onfrio) has learned that his world isn't real. As Hall continues to investigate, he begins to suspect that there is more to his own reality than meets the eye.
There's nothing remarkably innovative about the film's premise at this point, but director/co-writer Josef Rusnak can't be faulted for bringing up the rear of the virtual reality parade. He can certainly be faulted, however, for the way he approached that premise. THE THIRTEENTH FLOOR apparently wants Hall's existential crisis to matter, yet the film never gives us enough background to understand Hall, his friendship with Fuller, or any of his anxieties. It often appears that key scenes of character development have been edited out and replaced by expository dialogue, leaving little but essential plot-advancing events and Craig Bierko's dead-eyed performance. That makes it virtually impossible for the story to develop any depth, or for Hall's romance with a mysterious woman (Gretchen Mol) to be anything but functional. When the film's real "villain" shows up for the first time with about 15 minutes left, it's obvious that Rusnak's primary goal is moving the story, character development be hanged.
A science-fiction thriller can work, of course, without much profound commentary on the human condition; heaven knows THE MATRIX wasn't out to score philosophical brownie points. THE MATRIX also didn't make the mistake of pretending to be anything more than it was, treating its subject matter with a playful, giddy energy. THE THIRTEENTH FLOOR is one of those bleak, somber exercises in which the gloom is meant to suggest significance but instead makes it even more impossible to enjoy the story. On only one occasion, involving the confusion of Fuller's simulation counterpart, does THE THIRTEENTH FLOOR aspire to some kind of understanding. Most of the time it's a plodding bore, grinding through the plot as though its themes were medicinally good for you instead of the stuff of paperback novels.
I suppose it's praiseworthy that THE THIRTEENTH FLOOR does work at providing clues for its plot twists instead of dropping them in your lap. Mueller-Stahl and D'Onofrio are solid in their dual roles, almost making up for the blank attractiveness of Mol and Bierko. The film certainly achieves the atmosphere it's aiming for; unfortunately, that atmosphere provides neither entertainment nor insight. Even if you're prepared to overlook the inevitable head-scratching convolutions of plot, you're not likely to care about where they're taking you. I can imagine an alternate reality in which film-makers have figured out there's nothing more to say about alternate realities, at least for the time being. It must be a better place than this.
On the Renshaw scale of 0 to 10 floor burns: 3.
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