THE NET
A film review by Jeffrey Graebner
Copyright 1995 Jeffrey Graebner
With THE NET, Sandra Bullock has once again taken a film that could have been a complete loser and made it quite enjoyable. She has an extremely natural charm that is just incredibly appealing to me. The main reason that the movie worked for me was that I found myself to be *instantly* sympathetic towards her. There are very few actors out there that are able to project such a high level of instant likability. (Someone should consider casting her as a villain one of these times. I have a hunch such a move would be quite disturbing, particularly if the character's nature turned out to be a surprise.)
From a plausibility standpoint, the film is something of a mixed-bag. The very basic idea of someone's identity being erased via manipulation of computer records is presented in a way that isn't hard to believe. It is a bit of a paranoid fantasy, but that kind of paranoia has often been the basis of this type of thriller. In reality, the whole idea probably *isn't* that completely far-fetched. Society has become awfully dependent on computer records and computer security isn't as tight as we would probably like it to be.
What is pretty outlandish is the larger plot that is the basis of the whole situation. Bullock's situation results when she stumbles on a conspiracy so sweeping that only Oliver Stone would be likely to believe it. Luckily, the story doesn't typically take center stage in the film. It is Bullock's down- to-Earth performance that kept me from thinking too much about the basic implausibilities of the story.
The film is generally pretty good with the computer-related details, although it does occasionally spruce things up a bit for the camera. The movie does include some unlikely uses of voice synthesis as well as some screen displays that are more photogenic than they really need to be (this movie contains yet another example of the "photogenic computer virus" that seems to be popular in movies right now). For the most part, though, the filmmakers manage to get much of the language right and the computers aren't usually given capabilities beyond the realm of possibility. Those of us that are real-life computer nuts will tend to appreciate the accuracy of the terminology, even if much of it may go right past many viewers.
While Bullock's performance is the heart and soul of this film, the supporting cast is also good. As the villain, Jeremy Northam provides an appropriate mix of charm and menace. The best part of the performance is that he is able to bring an odd *warmth* to the character that makes him all the more hateful. Villains in this type of film typically have much colder personalities, making Northam's performance something of a refreshing change. As the only friend that Bullock is able to trust, Dennis Miller brings some welcome, although brief, comic-relief to the film.
During much of this movie, director Irwin Winkler appears to believe that he is making a tribute to Alfred Hitchcock. There are a few scenes that seem to be taken almost shot-for-shot out of classic Hitchcock films. In fact, the whole film really feels like a modernized Hitchcock movie. It doesn't quite have the plot ingenuity that Hitchcock managed, but Bullock's character certainly has all the makings of one of Hitch's "everyman" protagonists.
Largely thanks to the extremely welcome presence of Sandra Bullock, THE NET is one of this summer's most satisfying and entertaining thrillers. It should advance Bullock one more step towards superstardom.
-- Jeffrey P. Graebner Columbus, Ohio
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