Let's start with the obvious; it looks
breathtaking.
In motion, the film has almost no visual peer. Every scene bristles with love, care and attention to detail not witnessed by man since my Dad spent three days building a matchstick replica of Big Ben, before proceeding to get drunk and fall on it.
The style has led many a movie-goer to crow inane things like "it must be like being on drugs!"
These "people" also say that this effect can be achieved by wearing prescription glasses that aren't yours, not getting enough sleep or hitting your head on something. In fact, there are so many things that simulate the effects of narcotics that it really is amazing how dealers
manage to stay in business at all. The fact is that, whatever the intention, it remains a truly unique visual style and also gives it a quality that every movie wants; to be absolutely timeless.
The thing is that the plot often feels swept away by the pictures that come with it. More than once you'll be left scratching your head because you missed a snippet of vital information whilst focussing on a background. It must be said though, there is a lot of the film you won't get at first because it doesn't seem to want to outline things clearly.
Here's an example:
Bob Arctor works undercover for the police.
He's trying to find the supplier of Substance D, the future drug.
Except he's not, because he's been told to investigate himself.
But he doesn't know he's himself.
He knows he's there, he just doesn't know who.
He kind of knows why, but isn't sure of where.
But if he's Him, They must be investigating The Others... But then why is he Anywhere at all?
Without exaggeration, the plot can sometimes be that confusing. Understanding might come more easily if you read the book, but an adaptation is often regarded as a failure if it can't even begin to support its own weight.
But as you get deeper into the film, the smaller scenes really stand out. Little candid moments, such as home made silencers and discussing missing gears, offer insight into the minds of the characters and give the film a great deal of depth to accompany the style.
It's when you see the film as a series of sketches that it finally starts to do justice to the extra year and a half it spent in production to make the visuals. The effortless interplay between the leads loads every scene with meaning, and when the credits roll and you see the names of the people the author knew who have had their lives damaged by the drugs they took that the whole thing slots together.
It makes the almost unintelligible story moot, and right away you know why it was written, what it was getting at and how, ultimately, it had to be told in the way it was.
[HEADING=1]The doodads, man!"[/HEADING][HEADING=3]While it's true that I aim to bring sexy back, if I can bring the word doodad back with it then so much the better.[/HEADING]
[HEADING=1]that you don't know."[/HEADING][HEADING=3]There's a lot about Bob Arctor that Bob Arctor doesn't know.[/HEADING]
[HEADING=1]Total providence![/HEADING][HEADING=3]Mmm scenery.[/HEADING]
