Seeing in the Dark
Film Noir and Dark City

Imagine waking up in a motel bathroom, unable to remember who you are, how you got there, or why there is a woman lying dead in the next room. Suddenly the phone rings and a voice tells you to get out immediately before you are found. This is the beginning of Dark City, a dark, oppressive motion picture which combines psychological suspense with science fiction.

Dark City is written and produced by Alex Proyas (director of The Crow). In true film noir fashion, the dark, gritty settings are important to the alienation, betrayal, and loneliness in the story. From the haunting opening moments when the clock strikes twelve and the city stops, there is an undeniable impression that this movie will be more than the sum of its parts.

As Keifer Sutherland explains in the beginning of the film, there is a race of beings called the Strangers who have attained the ability to alter reality. They call this power "tuning." Despite this power, their race is dying and they have turned to a small blue planet on the edge of the galaxy in the hopes of finding an answer to this dilemma.

Enter John Murdoch (played by Rufus Sewell), a man who has lost his identity and searches for it in the nightmare reality in which he has awakened. Helping him in his quest is a mysterious psychologist, Dr. Daniel Schreber (Sutherland), who betrayed humanity to the Strangers. Before Murdoch can hope to trust the doctor, however, he must first find out the truth about the city.

Sewell is excellent in the role of the amnesic Murdoch. His paranoid energy and deep, haunting eyes draw the audience into his plight. Sutherland, in a much different role, emerges as a mousy madman who bears the guilt of his betrayal at the hands of the Strangers. William Hurt plays the somber, lonely detective assigned to a serial murder case after the first detective, Walenski (Colin Friels), goes insane. And Jennifer Connelly plays Murdoch's wife, who does not believe he is capable of murder.

Nothing is as it seems in Dark City. The gothic cityscape is built from "different times and different memories." In this world of perpetual night, no one thinks to ask why they never see the light of day, or notices when the world stops at midnight. Only the realm of the Strangers, (in a scene reminiscent of Fritz Lang's Metropolis) shows any technological advance over the city.

While the cinematic achievement in Dark City is both intriguing and captivating, the story may fail to capture viewers outside of fans of the science fiction genre. For those who try, however, they will be rewarded by a wonderful, interesting story that gets under the skin.

This movie is rated R because of violence and nudity. Some of the scenes with the Strangers are not only visually graphic, but could be psychologically disturbing to the squeamish. Parents are strongly cautioned. This is not a movie for young teens.

MY RATING: 9 out of 10.

RATED:
RUN TIME: 105 min.

Seeing in the Dark Film Noir and Dark City

Seeing in the Dark
Film Noir and Dark City