Gilliam Goes Gothic

Rating: 9/10 (6 February 2006)

Anyone familiar with Terry Gilliam's work will know he is a man who loves the weird, the eccentric and the bizarre. In case you were wondering, this is the guy responsible for Monty Python and the Holy Grail. It was this very tendency towards the outrageous that kept him at arm's length with production company Universal Pictures, up until the release of 1985's "Brazil", written and directed by Gilliam. When this risk of a picture paid off, it earned him some credit with Universal, allowing him to later accept the position of director for David and Janet Peoples' "Twelve Monkeys".
The year is 2035, and the dregs of humanity have been driven underground by the spread of a virus that has wiped out 80% of the population, leaving the surface to the animals. In an attempt to obtain a pure sample of the virus, scientists send "voluntary" convict James Cole (Bruce Willis) back in time to 1996. Upon arrival, Cole is mistaken for a crazy man and put into a mental institution. While here he meets beautiful psychiatrist Kathryn Railly (Madeleine Stowe) and deranged mad-man Jeffrey Goines (Brad Pitt). Soon he becomes irreversibly caught up in the lives of these people, and the lines between reality and insanity become dangerously unclear
Who would've thought that one of the Monty Python boys could turn this rather clichéd Sci-Fi flick into something new and exciting? And yet that's exactly what's happened. Gilliam's extraordinary vision keeps the film just surreal enough throughout that the audience is guessing to the end as to Cole's true state of mind, in a masterful manipulation of audience response, on a par with David Lynch.
The most intriguing thing about Gilliam's characteristically idiosyncratic film noir venture is its eerie, almost apocalyptic depiction of modern America. Through the eyes of Willis' confused and emotionally vulnerable character, the world as we know it seems darker, more sinister and the society thereupon built seems to ominously and unknowlingly teeter on the verge of a inevitable tragedy. "All I see are dead people", Cole despairingly confides in Dr. Railly, with a depressing conviction that for once has the audience actually hopeful that the main character is crazy.
Working with this are some simply superb performances from the lead cast. It was agreed by both Gilliam and Willis from an early point that this was not to be a typical "Bruce Willis" movie, in that it was going to be more character-depth and less action. Willis delivers on his promise, giving an emotionally restrained performance as the confused and vulnerable James Cole, unsure of his own hold on reality in a world that feels strangely familiar. Madeline Stowe is competent as always, but it's no secret that the star is Brad Pitt, who should have won an Oscar for this disturbingly convincing portrayal of a complete and total nutter.
And if all this weren't enough, the film's been given an erratic, discordant accordion score to boot; interspersed when thematically necessary with more harmonious string section, depending, of course, on whichever of the two Cole is feeling.
All up, "Twelve Monkeys" manages to be a surprisingly unique interpretation of what could have been a dull repetition of decades of the genre, almost to the extent of which it creates a genre of its own. Impressive stuff.