Cube 1997 91m.
The less you know about this one beforehand, the better: avoid all video slicks, talkative friends, and careless reviewers. This is engrossing science fiction that, once seen, is not easily forgotten. In fact it really should be seen only once and then left to linger for years in the memory. Story opens with a group of strangers awakening to find themselves in a square room with identical doors set in the walls, floor, and ceiling. Each door in turn leads to another room of the same design. It's tempting to think that because each character has been roused from sleep CUBE is merely a dream or hallucination, but no: its story generates tension because what happens to the people in it is horribly real despite the absence of any rationale. We are put in the characters' place, unaware of the meaning of the scenario while trying to puzzle it out as best we can. But there's little time for us to think independently - the screenplay (by Andre Bijelic, Graeme Manson, and director Vincenzo Natali) moves us along at a relentless pace. The claustrophobic setting and faceless appearance of each character (they wear drab prison outfittings) become hypnotic after a while; because they do nothing but move, sleep, and die it's about as purely existential an experience as you can find in cinema. The writers are smart enough not to have their characters pontificate on these themes however - the premise does well enough alone without having 'meaningful' dialogue thrown in to remind us what it stands for. As would be expected, there is the usual cross-grouping of character types to provide confrontation, but even these provide no anchor for our viewing sensibilities - characters change, sometimes in an instant. Heroes, villains, defeatists, and pragmatists all switch among each other - every character in turn is brave, fearful, angry, and calm. Only one thing is certain - every one of them is expendable.
Film has many offbeat, humorous lines and moments but is also unbearably tense at times - we are alerted early into the film that the labyrinth is a sadistic death trap. One scene, in which there is no sound for several minutes, is unbearable to watch in a cinema (and strange as it may seem - given the limiting nature of its sets - this really is a film to be seen in a cinema). Yet the major irony of the story is that the characters brutalize each other more than the sinister machinations of the Cube - in fact this is taken to excess near the film's conclusion, and is the only misstep the screenwriters make. Otherwise CUBE is a perfect blend of thought and action. You can sense the devilish fun that Natali and friends must have had assembling their intricate game - was this dreamed up by a frustrated Rubik's Cube owner?? Sensibly, the impressive effects are used only when needed. Wonderfully edited, photographed, and directed (especially considering the limitations of the setting). The cast, who provide the humanity - and inhumanity - central to our involvement with the story, command our attention on screen. It's hard to say who stands out, but my pick would be Nicole de Boer (as a student who makes maths look pretty cool and exciting!), a determined Maurice Dean Wint, and Andrew Miller, as the least likely companion of the others).
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