STRANGE DAYS
A film review by Daniel Simon
Copyright 1995 Daniel Simon
I won free tickets to the new film STRANGE DAYS, so I went to see it on its opening night. When a movie company knows it has a good film on its hands--except it's a film whose appeal may not transfer so well through previews and posters, they use such ticket give-aways to spawn the advertising they need: word-of-mouth. As I believe in free-enterprising moves like that, and the economic strength of educated consumerism, I want to take my part in this, and not take something for nothing. The following is my public, honest appraisal of STRANGE DAYS.
See the film. This cinematic venture from the makers of several past blockbusters is fresh, stimulating, and well-made on every level. STRANGE DAYS is set only hours before the turn of the millennium, in a ravaged, chaotic Los Angeles--a virtual police state, which is exaggerated but provoking. A virtual reality technology originally developed for police surveillance has developed into an illegal "drug" of sorts, called "playback" or "the wire": Human experiences can be recorded and played back, "straight from the cerebral cortex," with almost the same intensity in which they are experienced.
But now you might be turning away; I know what you must be thinking. After the great Summer of Cyber-Films, in which computer wizardry has paraded in lieu of substantive entertainment, it may be hard to imagine such a fantastic technological premise (perfected virtual reality--only four years from now ...) not being fecklessly exploited. But that's simply not the case with STRANGE DAYS. The way the futuristic hardware adds to the film's artistry is reminiscent of BLADE RUNNER. The "wire-tripping" concept never serves to cover for any deficiencies in the film. On the contrary, it is treated so straightforwardly that it adds greater dimension to the characterizations and gives us new and real avenues of human possibilities to explore. This film establishes a strong sense of realism in its futuristic concepts, then creatively builds on them.
Especially considering our obsession (and angst) with all which our unique, precipitous technological age portends--particularly how easily marketable it proves to be, STRANGE DAYS was a film idea begging to be compromised: to be written with slick style and little craft, cast with a more appeasing lead, marketed with one-liners and cyber-gloss. But, following writer James Cameron's talented lead, director Kathryn Bigelow and her collaborators have walked the straight and narrow; it is clear they cared about movie-making.
Still, at a cursory glance, some may dismiss the film, saying, "This is all familiar territory." But again, the unconventional merits of this film may not be communicated well along all the conventional channels. Its originality cannot be found in its striking visuals or in its mere semblance of high-concept, but rather in the film's total of skillfully-woven elements. STRANGE DAYS works because of its integration. And nothing here comes across as heavy-handed, even including an all-too-obvious scene invoking the Rodney King beating. This is not "safe," but focused, filmmaking.
Of all cinematic elements, modern film plots are generally the weakest. As you "debrief" a film experience on the way home, with a friend or in your own head, character analysis or special effects usually command more psychic indulgence than plot. But the surprisingly good mystery plot of this movie was foremost on my mind. I could tell you how it involves a slain rapper/social figure, a psychotic sex killer who sends his "blackjack" recordings to the hero, a music producer who clearly knows more than we do, and malevolent rogue cops whose number might be just two--or a hundred. What is important, though, is the coherence of the plot's turns, questions, surprises, character motivations, and accidents: an uncontrived story which unfolds to a compelling denouement. And the tempo throughout could not be better.
Ralph Fiennes is interestingly cast as Lenny Nero, a "successful" product of his times. As a dealer in black market "wire-tripping," he drives a new Mercedes, but wears fake Rolexes to bribe his way out of jams. But he always seems to be running on empty, in business and in relationships. He exploits his friendship with Mace (Angela Bassett), hustling the clients of her limousine service. He intrudes on his past girlfriend Faith (Juliette Lewis), with whom he is trying to sustain a dead relationship through "playback" of the past. Fiennes, who we've seen in SCHINDLER'S LIST and QUIZ SHOW, is a wonderful natural actor. Here he takes a well-written part and gives it "real guy" appeal. We want to see more of him.
Juliette Lewis, as the ex-girlfriend, is very good, so deeply "in character"--as always--that you wonder about the real-life actress--whether she needs a vacation to a solitary locale to find the real her. Darkly convivial actor Tom Sizemore (True Romance) is effective as Nero's best friend. And only slightly over-the-top is Michael Wincott as the dark, "wire-tripping" record mogul, whose capricious, rasping rants bring to mind the similar dark, powerful whacko he played in THE CROW. (I liked him best as Kent the juvenile junkie in TALK RADIO.)
But it is perhaps Angela Bassett's performance as Nero's friend Mace that deserves the most credit--not because it is any more convincing, but because it meets the unusually high challenges of a very complicated role. As Mace - a security professional--she is superior to Nero in both moral strength and hand-to-hand combat. Few actresses are believable defeating men in fist-fight scenes, but Bassett is. And she handles a gun in the no-nonsense fashion of a Marine. She does all this while lending an emotional and distinctly feminine presence to the screen. In the film's most empathetic character, she is remarkably able to juxtapose toughness with sensitivity in the role of a woman desperately trying to preserve a very bright, decent spirit in a culture which requires self-alienation for better survival--a world in which the wearing vigilance to see the other guy coming first has stunted every individual's ability for spiritual growth.
I should point out that this is a movie for mature audiences. It contains every element for which R ratings are given. The fact that undeveloped mentalities will view this film and be negatively influenced may even provide hours of worry to religious conservatives with nothing better to do. But taking a different tack: I am someone who loves the films of the '40's and '50's for a beautiful, "untouched by the world" quality that the characters sometimes possess; STRANGE DAYS is utterly bereft of that quality. Presented to us is a raw and animalistic techno-culture, which I sensed as disturbingly prescient. But in this film's gestalt, there is plenty of creative energy to ride, enough to make it a positive and highly stimulating experience. You just may want to offset some minor subconscious "impurities" that the film's jaded mood is bound to affect by a pastoral outing or a reading from classical Liberalism.
When you put all of its elements together, STRANGE DAYS contains a blend of enough originality and energy to be one of the most memorable films of the year. One of these elements is the very last scene, which will surprise some viewers. Without giving too much away: it is a refreshing turn that defies a particular stale, but all-pervasive, convention. We've seen this convention defied before, but rarely so with no compromises, no window dressing or conciliatory character-modifications to make it more acceptable. At the conclusions of our Hollywood movies--movies carefully plotted on demographic marketing maps to produce myriad satisfaction--how often can you note that the ending had more integrity than even the rest of the film, that the film deserved it?
-- Daniel Simon Daniel 1st@aol.com
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