'Dark City' shines

Rating: 7/10 (25 December 2010)

Australian director Alex Proyas' 'Dark City' is a cerebral and splendid science fiction film noir. Many people have called it one of the best science fiction films ever made, and they are right. The film recalls 'Blade Runner', another sci-fi film noir. Proyas' vision is original and uncompromising, and he has crafted a wonderful head trip which really stays with you.
John Murdoch (Rufus Sewell) awakes in a bathtub with blood on his forehead. He is suffering from amnesia and believes himself to be a serial killer. He must discover his true identity and find an escape from the eternally dark city in which he lives.
Murdoch's love interest in the film is Jennifer Connelly, and she is very well-cast in the role of John's wife, Emma/Anna. She was wonderful in another film noir, 'The Hot Spot', in which she starred with Don Johnson. In 'Dark City' she plays a sultry nightclub singer who is racked with guilt after cheating on her husband.
The best thing about 'Dark City' is the presence of the tall and thin Richard O'Brien, who played Riff Raff in 'The Rocky Horror Picture Show' way back in 1975. It is so great to see him again, and he lends a real gravitas to the proceedings. The Strangers, of which he is a member, are actually quite reminiscent of the Cenobites in the 'Hellraiser' franchise. These Strangers are an alien race who are trying to find out what makes us human. Every night at midnight, they induce the city's populace to fall asleep while they - the Strangers - change the city in order to alter our lives and to study how we respond.
This is a clever and original film. Unlike some science fiction movies, it really stays with you. And it is further proof - if it was needed - that Australia is a force to be reckoned with when it comes to movie-making talent.