THE NET
A film review by Matthew Beckwith
Copyright 1995 Matthew Beckwith
THE NET is a realistic thriller that's refreshingly understated. >From the first minutes of the film, when you meet the likeable Angela Bennett, a beautiful introvert addicted to her computer, who would rather stay home eating a pizza than go out on a date, through the conspicuously non-cybernetic middle of the film, reminiscent of The Pelican Brief, to the high-tech ending, in which the protagonist programs an internet search in seconds to identify the mastermind behind the terrorist attacks on presumably secure computer systems, THE NET keeps you on the edge of your seat.
Extra effort was taken during the making of this film, it is obvious, to make it a quality work. The protagonist's psychological make-up (including a history of psychotherapy, an abandoning father, and a mother with Alzheimer's disease) is carefully sketched out for us, making her an intriguing character. Subtle editing decisions were made, such as a computer-generated image of flowers which become real flowers, and an ant's-eye view of a carousel horse interposed in the middle of a chase scene.
The acting of all the characters in the film (including, surprisingly enough, Dennis Miller's) is competent, studied and professional. Sondra Bullock does a superb job in her role. Ken Howard introduces the film in a cameo showing just the right amount of authority and anguish for his tragic character.
As a computer programmer and physician, I would have preferred the film's makers to have taken a bit of extra care in avoiding technical inaccuracies. It is unlikely that simply hitting the escape key would undo the receipt of an email which has already been sent, and viruses (though quite powerful) generally do not give people back their lost identities. A nurse tells the protagonist that her friend has been intubated, but in the next scene the patient is talking; this would have been rather difficult if he had been on a ventilator (which the word "intubated" implies).
In a time of slam-bang thrillers with little character development or subtlety, THE NET is a refreshing, edge-of-your-seat film with a great deal of intrinsic quality. I highly recommend it, both to those who are computer-literate, and to neophytes in this ultra-networked society of ours.
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