The Unbearable Artificiality of Being ...

Rating: 8/10 (29 September 2017)

It all comes down to the most central question of humanity: "To be or not to be". I've always asked myself whether reality was an absolute or a relative notion. I'm not a scientist but let me tell you something, if reality existed, there would never be marital arguments. You think I'm joking, I'm only channeling the main idea about "The Matrix", it relies on the combination of individual perceptions, reality depends on what we see, it's a subjective process. You can build countless interpretations out of it, one movie did it without being too complex and by kicking some ass on the field of action.
That movie is the Wachowski's brothers (now sisters) "The Matrix". Released in 1999, definitely at the right time.
Indeed, every decade, sometimes more, there comes one game changer especially in science fiction, "2001", "Star Wars", "Blade Runner", "Terminator 2" brought something fresh and new, technically and visually and in 1999, the year that changed the face of cinema, there was "The Matrix", "Avatar" would be the following phenomenon but let's stick to the pre-millennium period, perhaps one of sci-fi greatest momentum, forever immortalized with the iconic bullet-time effect. I don't need to describe it, the effect was used in three early 2000's comedies out of 5, establishing "The Matrix" as an instant classic, along with "Saturday Night Fever" or "Jaws".
Now, "What is "The Matrix"?" asks himself Thomas Anderson aka Neo, suspecting that there's something in his surrounding world that looks too artificial to be believable, as if we came to an age where machinery has spread to all the aspects of life, so we can't really tell where the virtual worlds ends and the real one begins. But I remembered a research I made a few years ago, where I discovered that the opposite of virtual wasn't real but "actual". Virtual never intended to mean something that doesn't exist in reality, but something that carries a certain potential of existence and can either happen or not happen, if it does happen, it becomes actual. The merit only starts to exist once you decide it to be in an actual form.
In "The Matrix", the most heart-pounding and thought-provoking aspect relies on this simple equation, whatever happens might be a dream or might announce a form of reality that is yet to be discovered but it's a matter of choice whether the hero embraces it or not. It's all a matter of taking the blue or the red pill. There's something both corny and genius in the pills metaphor, the idea that it's all a matter of a simple binary choice, exactly as if human thinking adopted computer binary programming. Yet each choice leads to a totally different scenario, one establishes your surrendering to the convenient and reassuring power of computer (why not after all), another your position as an enemy whose duty is to free people.
Which is rather contradictory, why would you give anyone a choice to live in one of the world you intend to destroy, in fact, it's even interesting, if we take the notion of choice as luxury, wouldn't be the most ethical thing to do, to give people the possibility to choose whether they want to be controlled by the Matrix or not, rebels are revolutionary, not reformists. Well, we see one of the members Trinity (Carrie Ann Moss) killing innocent policemen so we're never sure we're dealing with the good guys in any case. Maybe living an ordinary life without asking too much questions would be the wisest choice. But I'm digressing
The film ventures in the realm of an artificial reality that still looks real and convincing thanks to a great design and a greenish tone that conveys the whole computer imagery and rather grim and bleak look of the dystopian future, without overplaying them. It's on the technical special effects that the film elevates the term science fiction, reminding us the core of the genre, it's all about scientific achievement and a fiction, a story where we find our own truth behind, a story that echoes our own uncertainty. The film was made in 1999 along with other 'existential' films but unlike "American Beauty" and "Fight Club", the film shows a clear enemy and antagonists, which helps to deliver its complex message; leaving us enough intellectual material to think about. It's one of these films that challenge your intelligence even when you try to determine its flaws.
Some critics pointed out the use of conventional themes, of faux spirituality, but let's call them universal, for the theme of the Chosen One is only one facet of the story. Keanu Reeves as Neo is once again playing a hero trying to conquer his secret force. Morpheus is the wise man who believes in him. And Hugo Weaving is the image of the cold and bureaucratic force. But just because the antagonism is clearly established, doesn't make the fight even more complex, it's not just about taking reality back but convincing yourself that it's worth fighting for, it's exactly like jumping on a building, and convincing yourself that you won't fall, one of the best things about the film is that the initial struggle is more internal, it's between Anderson and Neo, and his conviction that it's worth fighting for.
The final showdown establishes his rise to awareness and provides the film's climactic showdown but it's the only third act that could have worked for the film, otherwise, it would have been some faux spiritualism clichés one after the other. The film came as a right moment, it had the relevance, the resonance and the idea that we were all heading up to a world where we don't have to trust what we see. It's "V for Vendetta", "The Matrix" and any other movies that inspired conspiracies theories.