A sci-fi film with time travel and real vs surreal

Rating: 7/10 (28 October 2010)

The movie 12 Monkeys is a Sci-Fi film with many great actors such as Bruce Willis, Brad Pitt, and Madeline Stowe. Willis, who plays James Cole, is a survivor of a deadly virus that has killed all but 1% of the population. As a convict, he agrees to let scientists (who were all part of the survivors) send him to the past to attempt to collect any information regarding the virus to help save lives. Cole hopes to receive a pardon for doing this job. As he arrives in the year 1990, he is arrested after failing to cooperate with police and was babbling about the virus. He is given a mental evaluation and is later admitted to where he meets Jeff Goines, played by Brad Pitt. Goines is a complete lunatic who befriends him in the mental hospital.
The theme of the movie is real life vs. surreal. Scientists from the past who are evaluating Cole are astonished that he seems to think he is from the future. The whole time Cole is still on this mission to find the Army of the 12 Monkeys, who are expected to have spread this deadly virus. Cole kidnaps his psychiatrist, Dr. Railly (played by Madeline Stowe) who is surprisingly interested and in a way understanding of Cole and sets out to find Goines, as he discovers he is part of the 12 Monkeys. One relatable movie to this is Girl, Interrupted. Cole feels like he is the sane person in the mental hospital, much like Susanna (played by Winona Ryder) felt when she was admitted to the hospital.
One technique that emphasizes the theme is the lighting. In the mental hospital, the lighting is very bright and it allows the audience to see the faces and emotions of all the patients. Many people have glazed over looks on their faces from medications, and others have scrapes and scratches on their faces. The lighting while Cole is in sitting with the scientists underground and being reviewed is dark and dreary. It is supposed to give the feeling of being underground and the bizarre experiments they are performing on Cole. The film also used low-angle shots, which allowed emphasis on the characters and not the surroundings. One particular scene that is very noticeable is when Goines is showing Cole around the hospital when Cole first arrives. The emphasis on the characters allows the audience to focus on the quirky personalities of the patients.