THE ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU
A film review by Michael Redman
Copyright 1996 Michael Redman
** (out of ****)
Remember the scene near the end of "Apocalypse Now" where the boat finally makes it to the village? What they find is a hidden society filled with inhabitants involved in strange rituals and run by the bigger than life God-King Marlon Brando. This film takes that village even further into the Twilight Zone.
Edward Douglas (David Thewlis) is rescued from a life raft after drifting for days in the Java sea when his plane crashed on the way to his assignment as a UN peace negotiator. He is taken to a lush island by an increasingly crazed doctor -- or is he a vet? -- Montgomery (Val Kilmer). The place is run by Dr. Moreau (Marlon Brando) who is splicing human and various animal DNA in order to create the perfect non-violent being.
Of course things fall apart. Montgomery starts the dominos tumbling by killing a rabbit for dinner, then dead rabbits are found around the island. A manimal is killed because he killed and dirty dog Hyena takes over. Trouble in paradise. Almighty Brando can't keep them under control as they revert more and more to their animal selves.
This is the third film based on the H. G. Wells book and is visually hypnotizing. Each scene on the island is overflowing with mood and movement. Men, animals and everything inbetween crowd the dark and mutable screen. Montgomery's warning to Douglas describes the entire film, "Be careful, there are a lot of unstable phenomena out there."
Like much of "Apocalypse Now", there's far too much going on to catch it all and that's the way it's supposed to be. The over-stimulation crowds your senses, leaving few details, but creating a massive impression of foggy and breathtaking eeriness.
Brando's Moreau is beyond outlandish as he is carried on a litter, dressed in a muumuu, coated with pancake makeup and giving forth the law while swamped and worshipped by his creations. Kilmer is just a bit less bizarre as the drug doctor heading into insanity. His Brando Junior impression is a masterpiece of the grotesque and fantastic.
Yeah, the extravagant make-up, sets and dark and murky feel of the film are grand, but occasionally the story rears its ugly head and that's the downfall of the movie. The religious overtones are extremely heavy handed and the add-on preachy montage at the end is just horrid. Very little happens for a reason. Characterization is minimal and often sacrificed for sensationalism. We have no idea who any of these people are or what lead them to the situation they find themselves in. The animals are easier to care about than the humans.
See this film if you're up for a disturbing visual treat, but don't expect anything beyond that.
[This appeared in "The Bloomington Voice", Bloomington, Indiana, 8/27/96. Michael Redman can be reached at mredman@bvoice.com]
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