Where the sun don't shine

Rating: 9/10 (13 June 2006)

"Dark City" is a brilliant, imaginative sci-fi film starring Rufus Sewell, Jennifer Connelly, Kiefer Sutherland and William Hurt, who live in a nightmarish world, a city that is always dark.
Alien beings, who resemble the Superbowl "1984" Apple commercial, have taken over the city and robbed its residents of their memories. They've then mixed the memories up and injected people with memories that aren't theirs, all by way of experiment in an attempt to discover the human soul, hoping somehow the important emotions will attach to these past experiences and people. One man (Sewall) fights off scientist Sutherland as he's about to give the injection, and now everyone is after him. The beings are able to pass a hand over the residents' faces when they want everyone to sleep, and during the sleep time, they rebuild the city to their own requirements.
With shades of Fritz Lang's Metropolis, "Dark City" is a visually stunning film, from the sight of Jennifer Connelly in a brightly colored gown singing in a club, to skyscrapers creeping up to the sky, to the million stars populating the universe, to the huge clock showing midnight. You are drawn into this world and compelled to stay in it as Sewall tries to make some sense of who and what he is.
Awesome, thoroughly captivating, thrilling - and for some reason underrated. Don't miss it.