Beyond the Pale

Rating: 9/10 (7 March 2009)

The best thing i can say about this movie is that having watched it yesterday i woke up this morning, pondering on it, thinking about the scenes, the meaning, the message and the performances. And man some of them were just incredible. Top of the list Jackie Earle Haley as Rorschach - he left me shuddering, not just with the mask off, but with the mask on. Much like the masked Hugo Weaving in V for Vendetta, the ability to completely capture a believable character using nuance of movement and voice staggered me. When the mask came off and the man beneath was revealed i shuddered, not least at the apex of the movie when he faced of against Dr Manhattan. I'm not kicking Heath Ledger when he's down but if he's set a precedent then Mr Haley should be due a statuette next Feb. Alas, you suspect it'll only happen if he perishes before then. Jeffrey Dean Morgan also deserves a big up - balancing an open, understandable humanity with some of the most despicable behaviour imaginable was no mean feat and was pulled off with aplomb. The dense, flash-back heavy story telling, especially those segments narrated by Manhattan with his uncaring, deadpan VO, added layer upon layer to this film. You're seeing the present as he does, another example of the past, a part of continuum. This is a deep, emotional, intelligent, challenging masked-hero movie that goes further than any other in it's depth and scope. I'm not guaranteeing you'll enjoy it, but at the very least you'll be left with thoughts and images that demand attention.