wonderful dark design

Rating: 8/10 (30 August 2015)

John Murdoch (Rufus Sewell) has lost his memory and wakes up in a hotel with a dead body. Inspector Frank Bumstead (William Hurt) is chasing after a serial killer and suspects Murdoch. Dr. Schreber (Kiefer Sutherland) is also searching for Murdoch and contacts his wife Emma (Jennifer Connelly). Schreber has been working with a mysterious group called The Strangers who have special powers. The Strangers confront Murdoch and find that he also can 'tune', the ability to change reality. He is looking to go to Shell Beach but nobody can remember how to get there. At the stroke of midnight, the population becomes unconscious and the world is reformed.
This is a great sci-fi movie with an unique vision. Of course, it's dark. It's also a wonderfully rich hard-boiled 50s world. Director Alex Proyas adds depth to his design from The Crow. He borrows from the greats and influences many others following this. The story works well within its own logic. I think most has the world figured out by the midway point but The Strangers are still a bit murky to the end. They do need a clearer exposition that is more than Schreber's explanations. The climax is a bit too confusing but it is visually weird. It becomes a mind battle and that's a difficult thing to achieve cinematically.