Atmosphere, atmosphere, atmosphere

Rating: Null/10 (29 March 2002)

This movie grew on me with every watching, and I plan on seeing it again. The questions it raises are unoriginal, the answers are suitably reassuring, the characters are flat, but for all that it gets under your skin with a kind of mournfulness that permeates every scene.
You would think this is science fiction, but it's not. Because you know what? You can't extract people's memories from their brains with syringes. We have a pretty good idea how memory works, and we know for certain it's not available in liquid form. Science fiction extrapolates based on our current knowledge; this film is surrealist fantasy with SF trappings, a bit like "City of Lost Children" or the unfortunate "Kafka".
The city itself here is a marvel, precisely because there is nothing futuristic or imaginary about it. It is composed of buildings and objects from the memories of its inhabitants. Everything in it is a mix of different decades - just look at the cars in the overhead shots. The way the production design achieves a unique look is through its layout of the cityscape, lighting, details and points of view.
A point about the "strangers"; they resemble most closely Peter Lorre's character in "Mad Love". Bald heads, slouch hats and long overcoats. The only thing missing is black goggles and the chrome-plated hands and neck brace from that movie.
As in any good movie of this kind, the villains/monsters are touched with pathos; they are not simply evil, but a dying race making a last effort to survive. Yes, it's been done to death, but it still is a sight better than the unmotivated bad guy who simply exists as a foil for the main characters, evil for no reason other than that the script requires it. In this day and age, we take what we can get.
The ending is bittersweet. The characters can never recover what has been taken away from them, but must start over with what memories they have. Jennifer Connelly is beautiful, as is William Hurt's accordeon. The final showdown is Hollywood SciFi standard, with beams of energy lashing about in a desperate failure of imagination (come on, these character can alter reality, they can do better than this!) On the other hand, William Hurt's exit is sad and poignant, particularly when it comes so unexpectedly. Finally, this movie has soul where "the Matrix" does not. Period.