Review of Terry Gilliam's Twelve Monkeys by Koen Moes, Anh Nguyen Hai and Tim Andriessen

Rating: 7/10 (12 June 2012)

Twelve Monkeys is a science fiction thriller based one Chris Marker's 1962 short film La jetée, it is directed by Terry Gilliam, who is also known for Brazil (1985) and The Fisher King (1991). The film came out in 1995 and since then grossed over $ 168 million, it won the ASCAP award for Top Box Office Films in 1997. The film is set in the 1990's and in the year 2035, and was shot mostly in Philadelphia and Baltimore. Its cast consists of top class actors such as Bruce Willis, Brad Pitt and Madeleine Stowe. Twelve Monkeys was nominated for two Oscars the year after it came out: Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Brad Pitt) and Best Costumes Design (Julie Weiss). Brad Pitt won a Golden Globe in 1996 for his performance.
The film is about James Cole, a convicted criminal that lives in the year 2035. He is part of the 1% of the worldwide population that survived the spreading of a lethal virus in 1996, now living underground. Scientists think that the virus was released by a terrorist group called the Army of the Twelve Monkeys, and with a newly invented of time machine they send James back in time to collect information about the virus. When James time travels for the first time he gets send to the wrong point in time, where he meets Dr Railly, who will later on aid him on his search. He also meets Jeffrey Goines, who he later finds out to be the leader of the Twelve Monkeys. Since the time travelling was so confusing for James he was declared insane by the people of the 90's, and he even gets put away in an insane asylum. Luckily for him he gets send back to the future and eventually even gets another attempt to change the course of history. But you will have to watch the film yourself if you want to find out whether he succeeds in his task or not.
Twelve Monkey's grim post-apocalyptic setting makes up for a good science-fiction story and is quite original. David and Janet Peoples based this story on the famous French silent film 'La jetée'. Some people might consider the story to be weak because of its difficulty, but once the viewer truly enables him- or herself to understand all the plot twists and flashbacks they are given an excellent story. The writers did an outstanding job by introducing all sorts of interesting characters in the story such as Jeffrey Goines. His dialogue is perfect for an animal-activist and anti-consumerist who finds himself in a mental institution like the one he is in. Another aspect which is beautifully represented in Twelve Monkeys is the use of flashbacks which seem carefully planned to build tension and keep viewers interested, in this aspect it succeeds. Because of these perfect planned flashbacks you'll find yourself thinking about the amazing twists and revelations that are to come. If there was one criticism that could be made of the story, time-span is the one to be brought forward. Given that the film is set in 1996 and 1990 respectively and that the film was released during the last month of 1995 you have the feeling a lot of your anxiety is gone because the possibility of all the things happening in the plot happening in real life seem close to impossible. This however should not be seen as important because the story in its own right is excellent and drags you in. Given this Twelve Monkeys has probably one the best stories you'll see in a science-fiction film in a long time.
Other things that played key roles in the making of this film were the sound and lighting in it. Each and every time the timing of the sounds or rather the music is nearly perfect, giving you this extra feeling of craziness, madness, sometimes making it even hilarious. This also drags you into the illusion-like world you are watching. You will start to get confused like the characters, even though the narrative mode is from an omniscient perspective. The lighting, like the use of music, adds up to the mood of the scenes throughout the movie. Also the fact that the film is old makes it more believable. If this film was made in the 21st century, with all the technology we have now, it would be very weird and difficult to attract the viewers into the illusion-like world of the film. However it is incredible that these techniques, the use of sound and lighting, were already so well applied to films in the last century.
In conclusion we think that this film was put together quite well, they especially nailed the chaotic and insane theme. This is off course to be expected from a director such as Terry Gilliam, since you can easily call bizarre fantasy films his field of expertise. The chaotic styling, the acting and off course the music all play a huge role in what makes this film so out of the ordinary, they really contribute to the story, making everything much more of a realistic experience. Most time travel based films are not flawless however, but apart from a couple of minor points we think that the director and writer did a great job at it in this film. If you are into stories set in a post-apocalyptic world, or you really like films with a crazy and schizophrenic feel to it, we strongly advise you to go and watch this terrific classic of a film. And if you then are able look past the old representation of the future, we can assure you that you are in for 2 hours of pure pleasure.