Where Strangers Aren't Strange

Rating: Null/10 (2 July 2001)

I saw Dark City and was mesmerized from the beginning to the end. It is a very complex science fiction film in that much is going on and you must really pay attention to try...and I use that word because there are a few things I am still not sure of....to understand all that is happening. I am pretty sure though that I got the basic points of the film down and I am just bowled over by the creativity and innovation used in the film. The story deals with this group of strangers, a dying alien race, who manipulate the lives of human beings in a Dark City...a sort of hamster cage if you will...to try and find what composes the human spirit and soul. The sets used in the film immediately reminded me of the ones used in Brazil. They have that kind of nostalgia/modernization combination going. The special effects are very effective and the writing and direction are first-rate. For me, however, the acting was the thing that put this film in the better than average category. Forget what a couple reviewers said about Keifer Sutherland,William Hurt, and Rufus Sewell and their inability to act. All three do a rousing job in this film. Sewell is perfect as the man caught in a dream so to speak. Hurt is also very effective as a policeman. His low profile acting compliments the film's pace and other actors very nicely. But for me, the real treat was Keifer Sutherland's role as a doctor who is not all too nice. He affects a limp and a sort of Germanic lisp, and I must say he performs wonderfully. It is his best role to date..and he has performed very nicely in several other films(A Few Good Men comes to mind very quickly). The female lead is the weakest link(unfortunately we could not say Goodbye and see her exit the screen. Jennifer Connely acts with little savvy, yet she is a real treat to look at. I am just not sure THAT is enough to be billed as an actress in a film. Alex Proyos, the director and creator of the conceptual background of the film, should be praised for this thoroughly enjoyable,entertaining,thoughtprovoking adventure into science fiction. It is definitely the type of film one can see many times and find new things over and over again in. Also, as a note of interest, that is British stage and screen veteran Ian Richardson as Mr. Book....he does a nice job too.