Subject: Review: Dark City (1998)

From: [email-masked] (Marty Mapes)
Date: 2 Apr 1998 05:09:38 GMT

Dark City
A film review by Marty Mapes
Copyright 1998 Marty Mapes

***1/2 (out of 4) There seem to be two reactions to DARK CITY. You either
love it or you are unimpressed. Count me as a "love it." 

As good as THE CROW and SPAWN are, DARK CITY is better. Where the former two
have a specific comic-book following, the latter is an original work with
the potential for broader appeal. It has a similar look to the others, but
DARK CITY is much more thoughtful and much less violent. 

Not clever or complex, the story is still fascinating, like a selection from
the Twilight Zone. A man (Rufus Sewell) is awakened in his bathtub by a man
with a syringe. Surprised, the attacker runs off. The dazed man gets out of
the tub and finds a woman's body in the room. A mysterious caller warns him
to leave the apartment immediately, so he packs some clothes and leaves,
never sure why he's leaving or what he's fleeing. 

Ghoulish figures in long coats recognize the man and chase him through the
dark city, hounding him like figures in a nightmare. An odd blast of
willpower allows the man to dream himself free from his pursuers long enough
to check his I.D. The amnesiac learns that he is not dreaming and that his
name is John Murdoch. Now if only he could remember the rest of his life.... 

DARK CITY is good on many levels. First, the look of the movie is excellent.
Give credit to production designers George Liddle and Patrick Tatopolous for
creating a coherent look from diverse elements. There are visual elements
from the American 1920s-60s, mixed with Dickens-era urban industrial
elements. It is all pulled together in a sad, dark look reminiscent of the
diner in Edward Hopper's painting, NIGHTHAWKS. 

Proyas' use of models gives an appropriately eerie unreality to the film's
world (for not only does the AUDIENCE see the city a model, but so do the
ghouls). The look is like a cross between Tim Burton's BATMAN and the bleak
animation of the Brothers Quay. 

Second, the editing of the film is good. The pacing is on track, and the
plot is revealed, the "amnesia" explained, in satisfying increments. Also,
the stylized editing WITHIN each scene gives the movie a tense, caffeinated
look. 

Third, the special effects are well used. They look good, but more
importantly, the right effects are used for the right job. One example
stands out in my mind: the coated figures who haunt the city can attack
telekinetically. A simple ripple effect is used. A more showy effect could
have been chosen, but then it would have just been gratuitous. Restraint was
shown where necessary, letting the more critical effects look more impressive. 

Finally, like GATTACA, DARK CITY spends a just a little effort striving for
mythical significance. Unlike GATTACA, the story is just open-ended and
non-literal enough to be successful. John Murdoch's recovery from amnesia is
tied to the passing of the night, and the hopeful coming of the dawn. His
struggle with amnesia is both figuratively and literally the struggle of all
mankind (at least in his world). When we finally see the big picture of the
movie's world, it is as mysterious as the Iroquois image of the world being
carried on the back of a giant turtle. 

A few minor flaws keep me from giving this movie the same perfect score
Roger Ebert gave, but I do strongly recommend it, for its look, its pace,
its story, and its timelessness.

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