Incredibly Effective

Rating: 10/10 (19 January 2008)

When I first saw the trailer for Cloverfield, it didn't even give a name, simply the date 1-18-2008. Furthermore, I didn't know what to expect. Thanks to a wonderfully viral marketing campaign, neither did anyone else. That led to tons of speculation, mostly false, about what would occur within this movie's incredibly intense, groundbreaking 80 minutes.
That, alone, made me feel like paying to see this movie.
Thankfully, Cloverfield lived up to the genius of its ad campaign by maintaining its intensity and compelling drama throughout. The monster, unlike the American Godzilla, seems impervious to conventional weaponry, and the story basically leaves you in the dark about everything, which I loved.
The Blair Witch Project and Cloverfield both used a hand-held camera. That's about it. Cloverfield, despite its hand-held appearance, actually contains amazing cinematography and carefully planned shots. In many scenes, simply the placement of the camera behind people or objects allows the obstruction of terrible events, which serves to fuel the viewers imagination. I never felt the same way about the Blair Witch Project. To me, at least, Cloverfield's cinematography is groundbreaking.
As a psychology major, I always look for convincing characters. Cloverfield contains multiple characters who, while never becoming incredibly deep, manage to convey the action and react incredibly realistically to the situation. Some characters simply shut off their fear instincts, some simply break down, while still others cling desperately to ideals or, in the case of the cameraman Hud, objects. Hud's fascination with the camera didn't require any suspension of disbelief for me; I believe it served as a vehicle through which he could maintain his sanity.
As a writing double major, I also considered the story. Unlike most action movies which toss around a few ideas while remaining centrally generic and derivative, Cloverfield takes a rare, character-driven approach. This movie succeeds on its basest level simply by using the characters as a medium for the progression of the plot. Instead of relying on tons of deus ex machina and far too many coincidences, the plot progresses by the actions and desires of the characters.
Cloverfield certainly contains some genre conventions and even some flat-out clichÃ©s, but the groundbreaking style and evincing character-driven narrative render those minor problems nearly invisible. Even at its most generic points Cloverfield simply nods to the founding fathers of its genre, which I can respect. After all, the movie is a genre movie, and most good genre movies nod to the classics.
I will say that I don't believe Cloverfield will work for everyone. Those who find monster movies completely stupid, those looking for plot explication, or those seeking anything more than a visceral shot of how people react during an emergency should probably look elsewhere. However, those looking for an astounding event movie, a monster movie instant classic, or a surprisingly deep character study should check out Cloverfield. It may surprise you.