The Crow
Chad'z rating: **** (out of 4 = excellent)
1994, R, 102 minutes [1 hour, 42 minutes]
[fantasy]
starring: Brandon Lee (Eric Draven - The Crow), Ernie Hudson (Officer Albrecht), Michael Wincott (Top Dollar), Rochelle Davis (Sarah), produced by Edward R. Pressman, Jeff Most, written by David J. Schow, John Shirley, directed by Alex Proyas, based on the comic book and characters created by James O'Barr.
"The Crow" is an unusual, but excellent film unlike anything I've ever seen before. It's a modern mythology story that takes elements from almost every genre. What we get is a fantastic thrill ride of adventure, suspense, and an overall sense of Gothic supernaturalism.
A narrator tells us when someone dies a crow takes their soul to the realm of the dead, but if something went wrong, if something is unresolved, sometimes that person is able to come back and set the wrong things right. This is all told over an establishing shot of a dark and dirty city that seems to be lit by the fires of Hell. The intense mood is immediately established through the hardcore industrial soundtrack, a deathly black night, with an overall design that is the epitome of Gothic.
Brandon Lee stars as Eric Draven, a man who was murdered after he and his fiancee Shelly tried to protest the mob's decision to evict everyone in their neighborhood. Throughout the film we are shown flashes of their murder, which is quite disturbing. The killers were essentially common thugs but with a vicious, sadistic attitude. Eric's "ghost" returns to the scene of the crime and relives it, but now he is ready to make those who did wrong to him pay for their sins.
We also meet Sarah (Davis), a 12-year-old who was friends with Eric and Shelly and misses them terribly. She is a curious, outspoken kid who takes care of herself because her mother loves heroin instead. There is also police officer Albrecht (Hudson), a cop who becomes personally involved with Eric's case. He actually seems to care about people's welfare in a place where right and wrong are reversed.
Eric hunts down his killers, and one-by-one, exacts vengeance, always leaving behind his symbol which Officer Albrecht uses to put together the pieces. Lee is so intense as his character he is sometimes more frightening than the villains.
The source of the city's crime and evil seems to be coming from the nearly demonic mob boss "Top Dollar" (Wincott). We see him perform cannibalistic rituals, and when he speaks, his rhetoric is almost hypnotizing, and all of this adds to the supernatural mood. He vileness makes him easy to hate, and the film plays to our hopes that Eric will eventually confront him and justice will be served.
The storytelling style here is not exactly straightforward. It allows for scenes of interaction between Eric, Sarah, Officer Albrecht, and the criminals he is after. Many of scenes do not build up the story, but serve only to enhance mood, which is the film's primary existence anyway. We never know what's going to happen next, but everything that does happen makes sense.
Of course, Top Dollar figures out a way to "kill" Eric, which leads to an exciting ending that is sad but poetic.
"The Crow" is a fascinating film. Never before has a film been able to create such a powerful theme through mood and character alone.
e-mail: ChadPolenz@aol.com (C) 1997 Chad Polenz
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