Godzilla for the Youtube generation

Rating: 9/10 (22 February 2008)

At one point in this film a single shot tells us all we need to know about what its all about. As the decapitated head of the statue of liberty lies in a street we see someone calmly walk up and take a photo on their mobile phone. Ignore the monster, the characters and the fake mystery of its promotion, this is a film about the hand-held video camera and the mobile phone video. If there is such a thing as the youtube generation this is their film.
The prevalence of hand-held video and photographic technology has made the grainy, and out of focus mobile phone video a part of our daily lives. Its also allowed news organisations to replace eyewitness accounts by shaken and upset individuals with videos of the actual events themselves without losing the human element of their story. In this way the film recalls the amateur videos and photos that appeared in the days after both the 9/11 attacks in New York and Washington and the 7/7 attacks in London. This is not done in an allegorical manner but merely in a visual recall of how all major events will now be recorded.
The film begins with a going away party which serves a dual purpose, in introduces the characters briefly and also serves to ground the film in a reality. This is not an alternate version of New York when monsters attack on a regular basis, this is the plain old ordinary New York you've seen a thousand times before and these are ordinary people with their ordinary lives, no heroes here. This segment lasts long enough to make the initial arrival of the monster genuinely surprising whilst being kept short enough to get dull. Its at this point that the use of generally unknown actors really comes to the fore. You honestly believe that any of the people at the party could be the stars of the film and not only that but they can die or be separated from the group at any time. A point only emphasised further as the film progresses.
The film sets its stall out for the rest of the running time as the cast cower in fear in a convenience store as the monster apparently walks past, shaking the ground and blowing out windows. We know what role we are to play in this story, the cannon fodder. This is the disaster movie re-imagined from the perspective of those in danger, on the ground, and in need of rescue. The characters spend the film looking after themselves and hoping that someone else can solve crisis whilst they're still alive. Focussing on these people allows the film to stay clear of clunky exposition and fake science. We don't know where it came from and we don't care we just want to survive it.
All the while the director Matt Reeves assaults our senses with a perfectly paced series of breathless action sequences and momentary rests where our characters recuperate and count the cost the ordeal is having on them and their city. As with any good action film its the rest moments that define how attached we are to the characters and there is one genuinely heart breaking scene in a subway station that shows just how connected you have become without realising it.
The action sequences combine tension and action brilliantly and all showcase different aspects of the monsters' abilities well to keep the threat evolving and consistently scary. This also helps prevent the scream-and-wave-the-camera-around style of action sequence become to prevalent as would normally be a threat with a film shot in this manner. In all the only weak point in the action sequences is one supposedly roof top scene that looks far too much like a sound stage. Apart from that the feel of authenticity is kept ever present throughout these sequences.
Special mention has to made of how the film balances the need for believable hand held camera work with the need for proper cinematography. The film could easily have fallen into the same pitfall as other hand-held camera films, such as The Blair Witch Project, where shots can lack composition and framing to such an extent as to negate the film as a visual experience.
The film has generally been criticised for the almost traditional monster and disaster movie failings of a lack of plot and poor characterisation. While it is to an extent true that the film lacks a coherent plot and characterisation its also true that it benefits from its lack of both. The plot makes the audience feel as the characters do that we are being thrown around New York by forces far beyond our control and that we are constantly waiting for the next intervention from either the monster or the military to throw us off course again. Also the characters act believably in the sense that when a disaster of this scale occurs all people become pretty much equal, no one wants to be seen as a coward, every one wants to make sure those they care about are safe and no one wants to be alone. These are all the motivating factors the band of characters we follow are likely to have in such moments of extreme stress.
This is a massively entertaining, thoroughly enjoyable thrill ride that seeps innovation and free thinking from its every pore. One of those rare cinema event movies that make you feel you're a part of the film and a part of its events without ever forgetting to entertain. Cloverfield is a film I genuinely wanted to dislike due to the manner of its promotion and my dislike for monster films generally but it is an undeniable piece of cinematic brilliance and the first film I've seen in some time that feels genuinely new.