We are Rats in a Maze Without an Exit

Rating: 9/10 (3 February 2008)

The opening voice-over narrative by Kiefer Sutherland is worrisome. Within a few seconds of the beginning of Dark City we learn that the film' s Men-in-black have abducted a city's worth of humans (given the noir-esquire landscape and the 1940s and 1950s cars we have assume this happened in the mid-20th century) in order to perform experiments and learn what allows the human species to continue to thrive. The film is more about spirituality than evolution and more fantasy than sci-fi. But do not let the apparent spoiler in the preface or the lack of plausibility bother you. After the opening scene, you will be hooked.
Rufus Sewell and Kiefer Sutherland star, supported by William Hurt and Jennifer Connelly - an impressive cast for a work of imaginative fiction. And they are all put to really good use. Sewell is a man who inexplicably has virtually no memory and is the prime suspect in a serial murder case. His estranged wife (Connelly) and two police detectives (Hurt and Colin Friels) are all looking for him, and he is looking for a truth which may or may not exist. Transcending all of this is the work of The Strangers and their apparent human puppet, psych-pharmacist Kiefer Sutherland - who put everybody (except Sewell) to sleep at noon everyday in order to rearrange the city, people's memories, and more.
The cast is very good. Sewell and Sutherland's roles were very demanding and both actors interpret them interestingly and well. Connelly and Hurt provide exceptionally good support. Hurt looks like he was born for film noir.
What this film ends up being about (no spoiler - you will have to see it to even interpret this comment) is what we choose to do and why. And the answers for Sewell's John Murdoch and Sutherland's Dr. Shreber may surprise you. The script is one of the best of the genre - well thought-out, intelligent and providing solid opportunities for character development.
The film is very nicely and artistically designed and shot. the city's landscape is surreal-noir as are the costumes. The alien technology and costuming is dark, imposing and Gothic. The look and feel of the film, oddly, is that of a dark and creepy fairy tale, not the sci-fi adventure that the story develops into. This treatment is particularly affective, because it gives the somewhat predictable action scenes both a meaningful context and a somewhat less climactic feeling than usual.