Clever Social Satire involving the Apocalypse

Rating: Null/10 (21 July 2004)

SPOILERS
In 1996 the Academy Awards had a wide variety of decent films up for nomination. In a ceremony celebrating features like "Braveheart", "Usual Suspects", "Nixon", "Il Postino", "Apollo 13" and countless other quality films, one film which perhaps wasn't praised enough was the magnificent "Twelve Monkeys".
The premise is actually a relatively simple idea. Sometime in the future, convict James Cole (Bruce Willis) is "volunteered" to travel back through time. As a result of a virus released in the year 1996, humanity has been forced to flee the surface and escape under the ground. With only 1% of the population surviving, times are hard, but using a developed timetravel technology, scientists believe humanity can be saved. Cole, sent back firstly to 1990 and eventually to 1996, is introduced to psychologist Kathryn Railly (Madeleine Stowe) who fails to believe him and places him in an institute. Forced to take different drugs, Cole is introduced to fellow inmate Jeffrey Goines (Oscar nominated Brad Pitt). Goines, a rich man's insane son would eventually be released and Cole will be forced to solve the mystery of the virus and Goines' involvement in the mysterious Twelve Monkeys.
"Twelve Monkeys" is a brilliant, brilliant film. With Terry Gilliam as director, the film is given this extreme warped feel with extreme characters and extreme settings. No character being more extreme than Goines who is played to perfection by Pitt. Pitt, whilst perhaps fairly loosing the Oscar to Kevin Spacey's performance in "the Usual Suspects", is almost freaky in the way he uses his eyes and hands to show a man who has some interesting ideas on society, but simultaneously is what we would classify as insane. Goines himself points out that "There is no such thing as right and wrong, there's just popular opinion." However, whilst this is true of Bruce Willis' character who nobody believes, in the case of Pitt's rich kid, perhaps even those with a sceptical view on insanity would be willing to lock this kid away.
As well as Willis as the man from the future and Pitt as the kid with the screw loose, Madeleine Stowe as the psychologist with denial issues about Willis' story is superb. Showing a suitable level of caring yet scepticism, Stowe could probably find a job in the "X-Files" replacing Gillian Anderson.
It's hard to know what else to say really. The scripting is first class with some memorable lines, the directing is typical Gilliam craziness, the acting is top notch, even the soundtrack, which at times feels unmatched with the subject, is superb. All in all, there's little which can be said to criticise this film. Perhaps not the greatest film of all time, but a worthy contender for the top 200. Watch this film and be astounded.